Santa Barbara News-Press: January 28, 2023

Promising news for tourism

Rebuilding their lives

Fire and police commission holds its first meeting

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The new Santa Barbara Fire and Police Oversight Commission received a quick course in “Fire Department 101” and other training during its first meeting Thursday.

Commissioner Lizzie Rodriguez served as acting chair during the meeting at the city council chambers.

The chair and vice-chair will be nominated and appointed at the next meeting in February, when all commissioners are present.

All commissioners received their oath of office before beginning work on Thursday

afternoon, through the city clerk’s office. In addition to Ms. Rodriguez, the commissioners are Linda Esparza Dozer, Daniel Herlinger, Ana Alicia Zepeda and Gary Jon Hill.

During the meeting, Barbara Andersen, senior assistant to the city administrator, reviewed the new duties and authorities assigned to the Fire and Police Commission. She also addressed components of the new orientation and training program. The Fire and Police commission is established by city charter section 816. The commission operates in an

Gaviota couple Taylor Graves and Zachary Briones were only able to retrieve some clothes and house decorations after they lost their Gaviota home to a mudslide.

To donate to help them, go to gofundme.com/f/naturaldisaster-relief-mudslide-inthe-home?member=24650 003&sharetype=teams&ut m_campaign=p_na+sharesheet&utm_medium=copy_ link&utm_source=customer, You can also donate by Zelle: 586-747-1879 for Taylor Graves.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Mud burst through a wall loudly on Jan. 9 — the day that Taylor Graves and her boyfriend Zachary Briones lost their Gaviota home to mudslides.

But Ms. Graves and Mr. Briones are working on finding a new residence. And they appreciate the help they’ve received from others after becoming two of the many residents impacted by the recent storms.

Ms. Graves is originally from Michigan and moved to Santa Barbara in September 2021. Her boyfriend Zachary is a Goleta native. They moved to their home in Gaviota together in March 2022 and had lived there less than a year when a disaster struck.

“On Jan. 9, when we woke up at 7 a.m., our driveway was washed out, and we had to shelter in

place due to two mudslides on the driveway and two mudslides up by the house,” Ms. Graves told the News-Press. “There was a high velocity of water flowing down and creating ruts through the driveway; water tunneled underneath and into the field. The driveway is still unstable.”

Ms. Graves described the day in more detail.

“We were hanging out in the house all day, and about 5 p.m., we were watching a movie and heard what sounded like pebbles

December consumer spending declines; recession concerns remain

By BRETT ROWLAND

THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square)

– Consumer spending fell

0.2% in December from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Friday. From the same month one year ago, the PCE price index – a closely watched measure of inflation – for December increased 5%. Prices for goods increased 4.6% and prices for services increased 5.2%.

Food prices increased 11.2% and energy prices increased 6.9%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 4.4% from a year ago.

Friday’s consumer spending figures follow a series of economic reports this week that show concerns about a recession remain.

U.S. economic growth slowed to a 2.9% annual rate in the fourth quarter of 2022, bringing an end to a year marked by high inflation. In the third quarter of last year, real GDP increased

3.2%, the U.S. Commerce Department said Thursday. Pending home sales increased in December for the first time since May 2022, after six consecutive months of declines, according to the latest figures from the National Association of Realtors.

“The main issue this year has been declining affordability, with potential buyers getting squeezed by both higher prices and rapidly rising mortgage rates,” according to First Trust Portfolios.

The latest survey from the National Association for Business Economics, released this week, found that more than half of respondents put the possibility of a recession over the next year at 50% or higher.

“The results ... indicate widespread concern about entering a recession this year,” NABE President Julia Coronado said. “For the first time since 2020, more respondents expect falling rather than increased employment at their firms in the next three months.”

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Taylor Graves and Zachary Briones put on a brave and composed face at their mudslide-damaged home in the hills off State Route 1 in Gaviota.

Taylor Graves stands Friday inside the home damaged by mud.

Zachary Briones hauls a wheelbarrow up his and his girlfriend’s driveway, which was severely damaged by mudslides. Please see

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes, left, and Police Chief Kelly Gordon attend the first meeting of the Santa Barbara Fire and Police Oversight Commission.

City of Santa Barbara calls Tyre Nichol’s death ‘appalling’

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The city of Santa Barbara on Friday issued a statement describing the death of Tyre Nichols as “appalling, tragic and unnecessary.”

On Jan. 7, Tyre Nichols was stopped for reckless driving in Memphis. But according to Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, the investigation and review of the camera footage found no proof of reckless driving.

Released on Friday, video footage shows Mr. Nichols being beaten by the officers.

On Thursday, the five former Memphis police officers were indicted on murder charges in the death of Mr. Nichols. Officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were fired after they violated department policies, Chief Davis said.

“The death of Tyre Nichols is appalling, tragic, and unnecessary,” the city of Santa

Caltrans provides construction update

Barbara said in its statement. “The individuals involved have rightly been fired and criminally charged in the death of Tyre Nichols. There is no excuse for their actions. The actions of these individuals do not reflect the values of our public safety departments and tarnish the badge we all wear.

“The Santa Barbara Police Department and Santa Barbara Police Officers Association are committed to providing professional, fair, compassionate and dedicated law enforcement with integrity and respect with a fundamental commitment to the preservation of human life,” according to the city’s statement. “The Santa Barbara Police Department began incorporating de-escalation as part of our defensive tactics, firearms and less than lethal weapons curriculum several years ago. We utilize scenario and reality-based training to ensure our officers understand the concepts of de-escalation.”

Added Police Chief Kelly Gordon, “I want

to take this opportunity to say I am proud to work with the men and women who act with nobility and honor our oath. I am thankful for their professionalism and how they serve our community. I know they will rise to this challenge, and I encourage discussion in an effort to preserve the trust we have with our community.”

The city’s statement also refers to the Santa Barbara City Fire Department and the Santa Barbara City Firefighters Association and their commitment to providing comprehensive and compassionate service. The department responds to nearly 12,000 calls annually.

“Together with our response partners, the Santa Barbara Fire Department ensures that all community members and visitors are cared for like members of our own family,” Fire Chief Chris Mailes said. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER Closure issued for East Beach at Sycamore Creek

CARPINTERIA/SUMMERLAND/MONTECITO

— In Summerland, traffic will be shifted onto Highway 101’s new northbound lanes on the night of Feb. 2.

On the morning of Feb. 3, the new northbound off-ramp at Lillie Avenue will open, according to Caltrans, which reminds motorists to be aware of new traffic patterns.

Caltrans also noted the speed limit is reduced to 55 mph for safety throughout the construction areas. Two freeway lanes remain open in each direction during daytime hours.

Here’s the schedule for closures.

NORTHBOUND HIGHWAY 101

On Sunday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., there will be one lane from Santa Monica Road to Sheffield Drive with on- and off-ramps closed at South Padaro/Santa Claus Lane and North Padaro Lane.

On Monday through Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., there will be one lane from Santa Monica Road to Sheffield Drive with on- and off-ramps closed at South Padaro/Santa Claus Ln and North Padaro Lane.

The off-ramp at Olive Mill is closed for up to seven months and is anticipated to reopen upon the roundabout completion. Until then, drivers can use the northbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Rd.

The off-ramp at Evans/Lillie Ave is expected to reopen Feb. 3. Until then, drivers can use the northbound off-ramp at North Padaro Lane.

The on-ramp at Ortega Hill Road is expected to reopen Feb. 14. Until then, drivers can use the onramp at Sheffield Drive.

SOUTHBOUND HIGHWAY 101

On Sunday nights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., there will be one lane from Sheffield Drive to Carpinteria Avenue.

On Monday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., there will be one lane from Sheffield Drive to Carpinteria Avenue.

The on-ramp at Olive Mill is expected to reopen in late February. Until then, drivers can use the southbound on-ramp at Sheffield Dr.

The off-ramp at North Padaro Lane is expected to reopen mid-March. Until then, drivers can use the detour at South Padaro Lane and Via Real.

The on-ramp at Santa Claus Lane will be closed for up to five months and is anticipated to reopen Jan. 29. Until then, drivers can use the detour on Via Real, Santa Ynez Avenue, Carpinteria Avenue and Reynolds Avenue.

VIA REAL FROM NORTH PADARO LANE TO GREENWELL CREEK

On Sunday through Tuesday, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Flaggers will direct traffic for tree removals in preparation for upcoming sidewalk improvements along Via Real.

CARPINTERIA AVENUE FROM ESTERO STREET TO HIGHWAY 101

Flaggers will direct traffic (as needed) as crews build a new median island and bikeway connections.

To view timelines, detours, and maps visit www. sbroads.com.

Katherine Zehnder

—

SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued a “beach closure” notice for all recreational water contact at East Beach within one-quarter mile of the Sycamore Creek outfall.

The closure is in response to a spill of untreated sewage reaching ocean waters along this beach shoreline. Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services was notified by the city of Santa Barbara of a broken sewer pipe on the bridge spanning Sycamore Creek at East Mason Street. The broken pipe was repaired Wednesday evening, and the city indicated the damage and associated release likely occurred as a result of the recent storm. It was estimated that the spill involved a release of approximately 5,500 gallons of sewage to Sycamore Creek. The affected area has been posted with signs warning the public to avoid contact with the water until sample results indicate the water is safe for recreational use.

Contact with sewagecontaminated water increases the risk for certain types of illnesses. For more information, visit www. sbprojectcleanwater.org.

— Katherine Zehnder

WENDY McCAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-Publisher

ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER . . . . .Co-Publisher

YOLANDA APODACA . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Operations

DAVE MASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor

HOW TO REACH US . . .

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The Santa Barbara Fire and Police Oversight Commission reviews its duties during its first meeting.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Commission will have input on budgets, chief appointments

COMMISSION

Continued from Page A1

in an advisory role to the city council and city administrator “in all matters relating to the efficient and adequate fire and police protection for the city,” according to the staff report. This includes recommending “rules and regulations concerning the operation and conduct of the fire and police departments,” according to the report.

The commission will also consider along with the fire and police chiefs an annual budget and make recommendations to the city council and city administrator. The commission also recommends appointments for the offices of police and fire chiefs.

Ms. Andersen gave an overview of the duties and authorities of

the jurisdiction of the commission as well as the training that each commissioner will have to go through.

Following Ms. Andersen’s presentation, Assistant City Attorney John Doimas presented training on the Brown Act, the state law that regulates governmental meetings.

And Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Chris Mailes gave what he called “Fire Department 101: a quick orientation to what we do, how we operate, our chain of command, etc.”

Chief Mailes’ overview included the organizational structure of the department. He also outlined the department goals for 2023. Acting Chair Rodriguez made a motion to add the county ambulance contract to February’s agenda. There were two bidders, the current provider and Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The review panel has recommended American Medical Response for the contract. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department filed a protest. The protest was heard by the county’s procurement officer, who ruled against the fire department. A further appeal was generated to the procurement resolution committee, which was heard Thursday morning. The results of that should come out within 15 days. “Every single fire department in the entire county is behind a county fire run, ambulance service so we are still very hopeful. But we know that it is up to this committee and ultimately up to the Board of Supervisors,” said Chief Mailes. The decision on whether to go with county fire or the private contractor is ultimately up to the Board of Supervisors. The

contract is estimated between $100 million to 140 million.

“It is well known that the city does prefer a fire departmentbased ambulance system,” said Chief Mailes. The motion passed unanimously 4-0. Commissioner Hill was not present accounting for the discrepancy in the vote.

Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon gave a department update.

“I am proud to work with the men and women who act nobly and honor our oath,” she said. “I am thankful for their professionalism and how they serve our community. I know they will rise to all challenges, and I encourage discussion in an effort to improve and preserve the trust that we have with our community.”

email: kzehnder@newpress.com

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McGoni-gate

Former FBI official indicted, linked to Russian Oligarch

Earlier this week Charles F. McGonigal, 54, formerly special agent in charge of the Counterintelligence Division at the FBI’s large New York City field office, was indicted by the Department of Justice for conspiracy to commit money laundering, making multiple false statements, concealing material facts, falsifying records and helping a Russian oligarch avoid sanctions.

This 22-year bureau-veteran’s position was very senior and extremely sensitive because New York City, which plays host to the United Nations, is the main recruiting ground in the U.S. for the Russian intelligence services.

The sad part is I knew Charlie around 2003-5 when he was a counterintelligence supervisor at headquarters in Washington DC.

As intelligence chief to Prince Albert of Monaco — and acting as the prince’s emissary — I, in February 2003, presented to the most senior national security bigwigs at the FBI evidence that a former U.S. Air Force/Defense Intelligence Agency colonel was spying for the Russians in addition to having laundered Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout’s illgotten gains through a Monacobased company called Pastor International.

The FBI did its usual checks and formally opened an investigation … and assigned it to Charlie McGonigal.

Two years later, after much incriminating activity by our target (which I witnessed myself while monitoring him) and just after it seemed FBI special agents were making substantial progress, Mr. McGonigal inexplicably closed the FBI’s investigation.

He told me that even though we seemingly had a clearcut case of espionage, he would hand it over to the IRS so that they could instead pursue our target’s “financial irregularities.”

This made no sense to me back then, and it makes no sense now. Because even if FBI special agents at the Los Angeles Field Office (from which the case was run) had narrowed the investigation to a money laundering case (easier to prosecute than espionage), it would still remain within the bureau’s purview for investigation, with U.S. attorneys for assessing the merits of prosecution.

So, to my thinking, one must consider the possibility that Mr. McGonigal may have been compromised by the Russians way back then and, at their behest, derailed an investigation of Russia’s high-level spy.

SOME CONTEXT IS NECESSARY

We had reason to believe our target had been personally recruited by Vladimir Putin in Germany during the timeframe 1986-90 when Mad Vlad was a KGB officer based in Dresden, in what was then East Germany. Our target was at that time posted

to the U.S. Air Force base at Ramstein, West Germany, 200 miles from where Lt. Col. Putin operated and whose job it was to recruit U.S. military personnel who had access to top secret intelligence. At Ramstein, our target supervised super-secret U-2 and SR-71 reconnaissance flights over the Soviet Union.

Additional context: When we passed our dossier to the FBI, we had reason to believe that our target who, although retired from the military but extremely wealthy (millions of dollars in real estate and Ming Dynasty antiques paid for with funds that could not be explained), was spying on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Board (known by the acronym PFIAB), which assembled annually in Washington, D.C., to provide advice to the U.S. president on intelligence collection, analysis and estimates. We tracked our target to Washington every December for three years; he positioned himself in luxury hotels near where PFIAB met, in the Old Executive Office Building. And Mr. McGonigal hypothesized that our target knew a PFIAB board or staff member from when he was a “chart-flapper” himself at PFIAB meetings; that he would wine and dine this individual and glean all he could about whatever was discussed at PFIAB and report back to the Russians, maybe to Mr. Putin himself. (Our target professed an ongoing personal relationship with the Russian president.)

NOW BACK TO CHARLES MCGONIGAL

So: Did Mr. McGonigal truly transfer the investigation of our target to the IRS — or did Charlie deep-six it?

Certainly, he made no offer to introduce me to whomever he dealt with at the IRS to liaise with them as I had liaised with the FBI. From that point on, nothing happened, it went cold. As if killed.

Consider this: In addition to four counts of laundering money, Mr. McGonigal is charged with having received $225,000 from “an individual who was an employee of a foreign intelligence service before his retirement” — a relationship that he unlawfully concealed from the FBI during the period 2016-18 while still working for them, thereby demonstrating that he was quite content to operate secretly in his own best interests while still employed by the U.S. government.

Thus it becomes plausible that a very senior counterintelligence official of the FBI has been on Moscow’s payroll for almost 20 years, which, if true, would raise him to the level of CIA traitor Aldrich Ames and FBI traitor Robert Hanssen in terms of how much intelligence has been compromised. And that would mean that the FBI and, by extension, the CIA (with whose

officers Mr. McGonigal regularly liaised), have a much more serious problem than they know — one that requires much damage assessment.

Or maybe the FBI would prefer to cover it up with charges less serious than treason, a capital offense punishable by the death penalty, due to the embarrassment and political ramifications it would suffer, following such a revelation on the heels of other recent embarrassments.

However, if the FBI believed Charlie had been recruited by a Russian intelligence service, prosecutors would have insisted he be held in custody and not bailed, as he was (on a $500,000 bond), out of concern that the Russians might try to exfiltrate him out of the country to safety in Moscow. Which means maybe they don’t know and maybe they don’t want to know.

THE EVER REVOLVING DOOR AND BROOKFIELD PROPERTIES

If accepted at face value, Mr. McGonigal’s alleged criminal actions have shed a spotlight on how the “revolving door” operates in Washington, D.C.

While working for the FBI, Charlie supervised an investigation of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. Then after leaving the bureau, Charlie went to work for … Oleg Deripaska, for whom he investigated a rival oligarch in addition to trying to get his client removed from the sanction list.

Our data check on Mr. McGonigal connects him through an email address to Brookfield Properties of Brookfield Place, New York City, a global property company that offers “an incredible collection of real estate,” states their website, “everywhere you want to be.”

We know from past intelligence investigations that high-end real estate is one of the ways in which Russian oligarchs launder dirty money.

Oddly, Brookfield also links to Jared Kushner, who worked in the White House for his father-in-law Donald Trump. In October 2022, the (U.K.) Guardian reported, “A financial firm (Brookfield) that operates billions of dollars in real estate properties around the world is facing questions from the powerful chairman of the Senate finance committee about whether

Rights group challenges California law penalizing doctors for deviating from COVID consensus

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) is challenging Assembly Bill 2098 which penalizes physicians who “disseminate misinformation related to Covid-19.”

The NCLA representing Tracy Høeg, M.D., Ram Duriseti, M.D., Aaron Kheriaty, M.D., Pete Mazolewski, M.D. and Azadeh Khatibi, M.D., argued before Senior Judge William Shubb of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, that the AB 2098 violates the First Amendment rights of free speech and the Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process of the law, of the physicians.

The law which was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 30 2022 seeks to discipline physicians and surgeons through the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California by designating “misinformation and disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or ‘COVID19,’ as unprofessional conduct.”

California’s existing law already requires the boards to take action against medical practitioners for unprofessional misconduct. By defining certain kinds of speech as misconduct, physicians could be disciplined or lose their licenses.

The law defines misinformation as “false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.” Judge Shubb called the law’s definition of misinformation “nonsense.”

The NCLA argued that “The term ‘contemporary scientific consensus’ is undefined in the law and undefinable as a matter of logic. No one can know, at any given time, the ‘consensus’ of doctors and scientists on various matters related to prevention and treatment of Covid-19. And even if such a poll could theoretically be taken, who would qualify to be polled? Only those doctors treating Covid-19

patients? All doctors and scientists, or only those in certain fields? Who determines which fields? How often would such polls be taken to ensure the results are based on the most up-to-date science? How large a majority (or plurality) of the polled professionals qualifies as a ‘consensus’? The very existence of these questions illustrates that any attempt at a legal definition of ‘scientific consensus’ according to which doctors must operate in their day-to-day practice is impractical and borders on the absurd.”

The complaint stated that the terms in AB2098 are unconstitutionally vague and in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment putting physicians in the very difficult position of having to know what the “consensus” is at any given moment while trying to best advise patients and their individual circumstances.

The complaint noted that the bill infringed on “First Amendment rights because it impedes their ability to communicate with their patients in the course of treatment.” This impediment comes from the imposition of the board’s view-point on what constitutes “contemporary scientific consensus,” and “the First Amendment applies not only to expression of majority opinions, but to minority views as well.”

“At a hearing on NCLA’s motion to enjoin AB2098, we explained to the Court why this Act is nothing more than a blatant attempt to silence doctors whose views, though based on thorough scientific research, deviate from the government-approved ‘party line,” said NCLA Senior Litigation Counsel, Greg Dolin, M.D. “At no point during the hearing was the State able to articulate the line between permissible and impermissible speech, further illustrating how problematic the statute is. NCLA is confident that the Court appreciates all of the problems created by AB2098 and is hopeful that in light of these problems the Court will reach a correct decision and enjoin this unconstitutional law.”

Qatar was secretly involved in the $1.2 billion rescue of a Fifth Avenue property owned by Jared Kushner’s family while Kushner was serving in the White House.”

At the risk of telling the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control how to do their jobs, if I were investigating the transactions of sanctioned Russian oligarchs with a view to confiscating their holdings, I would put Brookfield — based on Mr. McGonigal’s connection to the sanctioned Oleg Deripaska — under a microscope.

Indicted for his alleged crimes in two jurisdictions, Charlie is looking at four counts of money laundering and violating sanctions, totaling 80-plus years in prison, probably at ADX Florence in Colorado alongside Robert Hanssen, Unabomber Ted Kaszynski and Mexican drug lord El Chapo.

CROSSFIRE HURRICANE

While not trying to turn this into a political matter, we would be remiss if we did not point out Mr. McGonigal’s deep involvement in Crossfire Hurricane, which led to the now disgraced Mueller special counsel Investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and which attempted to frame President Donald Trump as a Russian stooge based on misleading information later discovered to have been fabricated by the Hillary Clinton Campaign.

It was Charlie’s willingness to launch Crossfire Hurricane that propelled him, with then-FBI Director James Comey’s blessing, from headquarters to a top job in New York City.

It is certainly ironic that a senior FBI counterintelligence official charged with investigating Mr. Trump for collusion with Russia is now charged criminally for colluding with a sanctioned Russian oligarch.

LUXEMBOURG

Charlie McGonigal’s case is

Please see ERINGER on A7

ROBERT ERINGER

‘There is a lot of destruction on the property and to the home’

MUDSLIDES

Continued from Page A1

falling. It sounded like lightning struck 10 feet in front of us. Mud burst through the wall and in a split second filled the bedroom and began seeping into the living room and kitchen. I found out the next day that it broke through the garage and filled the entire garage.”

She said mud filled two-thirds of the small, one-bedroom house.

The home’s bathroom was spared.

“The mud came from the hillside behind the house, where nothing had ever happened previously, and there were some untouched poision oak trees in the mud,” said Ms. Graves. “When it occurred, our two cats were in the bedroom and our dog was on the couch with us. My one cat came flying out of the bedroom, and my other cat was still in the bedroom.

“I started digging in the mud and found her buried in mud

with two legs trapped under the door. We called our only neighbor (Scott) at the bottom of the hill. He rescued us on his ATV,” Ms. Graves said. “He told us to grab essentials and he pulled my cat out. While we were evacuating, my other cat came flying out of the house. We didn’t find him until the following morning.

“Scott carried me and the cat down the driveway on his ATV, and my boyfriend carried our dog down the unstable driveway.We stayed at my boyfriend’s house until Tuesday night.”

Four mudslides went down their driveway.

“There were two more cyclone storms after that, and everything was soaking in water and mud,” Ms. Graves said. “My boyfriend said that it smelled like something died and was trapped in the mud. Everything that is there is not viable.

“When my neighbor helped us evacuate, we had a boulder come down on the right side of

the house and a mudslide as well. Several boulders came down and exposed tree roots. There is a lot of destruction on the property and to the home,” said Ms. Graves. But she and her boyfriend were still able to smile during a News-Press photo shoot at their home.

“The positive is that we are all safe,” Ms. Graves said. “My cat only had a laceration on her leg where she was trapped under the door. My boyfriend and I got a severe poison oak rash, and the rash is just now subsiding. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.

“We are fortunate to be close to my boyfriend’s parents who live in town. We are using this as an opportunity to save money to buy a condo while living with his parents,” she said.

“We have come up with a plan. We are going to buy a condo and live there for five to 10 years and renovate it. Good things have come out of it,” she said.

“I work at Mesa Cafe, and lots of local people including the

BENNETT, Barbara Ellen

Barbara Ellen Bennett passed away on January 4, 2023; she was 74 years old. Barbara was born September 26, 1948, in Fulton, Missouri. When she was 14, she and her parents moved to Aguanga, in northeast San Diego County. She graduated from Julian Union High School as salutatorian and in 1970, she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in mathematics from California Western University on Point Loma in San Diego. She met Greg Bennett the first week of their freshman year in college and they married the day after graduation.

Barbara and Greg moved to Santa Barbara for him to attend Brooks Institute of Photography. He shared his love of photography with Barbara, who enjoyed travel and taking pictures; many, many pictures, which she often used to make into albums for the people she traveled with.

After college graduation and until retirement, Barbara worked as a computer programmer, then a software engineer, and finally a project manager. She worked at Astro Research Corporation, Raytheon, and then AT&T Government Solutions until her retirement in 2014.

Barbara enjoyed serving in many capacities at her church, and especially in volunteering with Samaritan’s Purse and putting together boxes for Operation Christmas Child. She loved reading, board and card games, and spending time with her friends.

Barbara is predeceased by her husband, Greg, and leaves behind her son, David (Christina), her brother, Ray (Karen), and her niece, Samantha (Ray) and greatnephew, Ryan.

A celebration of life was held by her family and friends.

WILLEY, Charles Wayne “Chuck”

(1932 - 2022)

Chuck passed away on December 21, 2022 in Missoula, Montana. He was born October 7, 1932 in Dillon to Elizabeth (Leonard) and Asa Willey. He spent his early years on the family ranch in the Big Hole, where he was the doted-upon little brother of sisters, Corinne, Elaine, and June. When his father died in 1944, Chuck and his mother moved to Wisdom and he later went to high school in Medicine Lake while living with sister, Elaine, and her husband, Bud Hjort. Following high school, Chuck attended Montana State University, where he received a B.S. with honors in 1954. Chuck then served in the United States Air Force for two years, after which he attended law school at the University of Montana. So began Chuck’s lifelong engagement with the law, studying it, practicing it, arguing about it, and teaching it. He graduated first in his class in 1959 and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Montana Law Review. After graduation, Chuck moved to San Francisco to clerk for the Honorable Walter L. Pope, Chief Judge of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1960, Chuck began practicing with Price Postel & Parma in Santa Barbara, California. Chuck practiced in Santa Barbara (with PP&P, his own firm, and Hollister & Brace) for 41 years and engaged widely in the legal community. He was variously President of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara, President of the Santa Barbara County Bar Foundation, and Chair of the State Bar of California’s Committee on Administration of Justice. He served as a Judge Pro Tem in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court and was a member of the William L. Gordon Inn of Court. Chuck also served as a member of the Board of Laguna Blanca School and on the vestry of All-Saints-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church.

Following his “retirement” from active practice, Chuck returned to Montana, where he was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Montana and Chair of the State Bar of Montana’s Business, Estates, Trusts, Tax and Real Estate Section. Chuck loved horses (he was a deft rider and an equine whisperer), dogs (large and small, all spoiled), reading (he read deeply and voraciously, with an emphasis on history), laughter, and wine (he was agnostic and liked it all). Chuck was an accomplished and caring man who always wanted to ensure that his children had winter coats. Chuck is predeceased by his parents, sisters, and brother, Harold. He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Alexis; his children, Stephen (Gretchen), Heather (William), Brent, and Scott (Laurel); and grandchildren, Ryan, Cole, Blake, Lucien, Sian, Caden, Katrine, and Theo. Services will be private.

owner, Ramiro Elizdale have been wonderful and kind, reaching out with help,” Ms. Graves said. “Ramiro really cares about his employees and has been very supportive. We have support from the cafe and the people that come in. Our situation would be a lot different without their support and his parents’ support,” said Ms. Graves.

“It has been a difficult time, but it has opened up a lot of opportunities for growth in our future. It has also woken me back up to a new appreciation for everything we have and are given,” she said. “I find myself showing much more gratitude because you never know what can happen. I have become grateful for this experience from what it has shown me.

“Everything happens for a reason and I know good things are to come. Also, us and the fur babies are safe and healthy, which is all that matters. Possessions are always replaceable.” email: kzehnder@newspress.com

PFEILER, Edward Joseph “Bud”

Edward Joseph “Bud” Pfeiler went peacefully to heaven on January 19, 2023, in his home in Santa Barbara, CA at the age of 102, surrounded by the love of his family.

Bud was born on August 11, 1920, in Oxnard, CA and was the son of Emil and Nellie Pfeiler. He grew up with his 6 brothers and sisters, sharing many adventures on the Rice Rd. family ranch. In 1939, he met the love of his life, Ardna Mae Isham, and they married on February 3, 1942.

During WWII Bud served his country as a pilot and flight instructor in the United States Air Force, training many young pilots. After the war he and Ardna settled in Ventura where they raised their four children. Bud continued in the Air Force reserves for thirty more years, and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. In 1963 Bud and Ardna moved their family to Santa Barbara, where he had established the family business, Pfeiler Truck and Tractor Sales. Ardna worked alongside him as the bookkeeper.

On February 3, 2017, Bud and Ardna were blessed to celebrate their 75th wedding anniversary. Throughout those 75 years, they loved sharing their time together, from swirling around the dance floor as members of the Stardusters Dance Club, to golfing together at The Alisal with occasional visits to the casino. They enjoyed traveling in their motorhome, trout fishing in the Sierras, salmon fishing on the Rogue River in Oregon, and many of their anniversaries were spent in Las Vegas.

Bud made many friends throughout the years and was admired and loved by all who knew him. Unable to play golf after suffering a stroke in 2010, he continued to join his golf buddies at the Alisal on Wednesdays, riding along with them in the golf cart. Bud loved his family, and as he grew older he so enjoyed the visits from his grandchildren, great, as well as great-great-grandchildren, and cherished nieces and nephews.

Bud is survived by his 4 children and their spouses, Edward and Trini, Jo Ann, Mary Ann and Ed Schram, Beverly and Jerry Van Wingerden; and his 7 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. His faith was very important to him, and he was a great inspiration to his family and to all those who were graced by his love.

The family would like to thank Msgr. Michael Jennett for his love and friendship; the caregivers from The Key and from Complete Care S.B., and the hospice nurses and caring staff from Central Coast Hospice.

A Rosary Vigil will be held on Monday, January 30, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at the WelchRyce-Haider funeral chapel, 15 E. Sola St., Santa Barbara. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at San Roque Catholic Church, 325 Argonne Cr., Santa Barbara, with interment to follow at Calvary Cemetery. Friends who wish to remember Bud may do so with a contribution to “Food From the Heart,” P.O. Box 3908, Santa Barbara, CA 93130.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com To place an obituary, please email the text and photo(s) to obits@ newspress.com or fax text only (no photos) to (805) 966-1421. Please include your name, address, contact phone number and the date(s) you would like the obituary to be published. Photos should be in jpeg format with at least 200 dpi. If a digital photo is not available, a picture may be brought into our office for scanning. We will lay out the obituary using our standard format. A formatted proof of the obituary and the cost will be emailed back for review and approval. The minimum obituary cost to print one time is $150.00 for up to 1.5” in length -- includes 1 photo and up to 12 lines of text, approximately 630 characters; up to approximately 930 characters without a photo. Add $60.00 for each additional inch or partial inch after the first 1.5”; up to approximately 700 characters per additional inch. All Obituaries must be reviewed, approved, and prepaid by deadline. We accept all major credit cards by phone; check or cash payments may be brought into our office located at 715 Anacapa Street. The deadline for Weekend and Monday’s editions is at 10a.m. on Thursdays; Tuesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Fridays; Wednesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Mondays; Thursday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Tuesdays; Friday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Wednesdays (Pacific Time). Free Death Notices

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

The Jan. 9 rainstorm-induced mudslides damaged the home of Zachary Briones and Taylor Graves.

Zachary Briones, left, hands his girlfriend Taylor Graves a flower he found at their mudslide-damaged home.

Good year expected for tourism

Visit Santa Barbara delivers promising news at its annual summit

By CALEB BEEGHLY NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Despite a rough start, 2023 will be a good year for the local tourism industry.

That was the message at Visit Santa Barbara’s annual Tourism Summit Thursday at the Cabrillo Pavilion.

Visit Santa Barbara invited local businesses to hear timely insights and updates across marketing, sales and community partnerships, as they work to promote Santa Barbara.

Success this year won’t come easy, said Kathy Janega-Dykes, the VSB president and CEO, one of the speakers. Already, there was a rough beginning this year because of factors such as airline disruptions, economic concerns and the storms, she said.

“Santa Barbara must compete

aggressively,” said Ms. JanegaDykes, reminding the businesses at the summit that there are many other cities looking to reignite their tourism industries.

However, Ms. Janega-Dykes expressed confidence in the beauty and the people of Santa Barbara. “VSB has the best success when working together with businesses and residents in mind.”

The summit included a review of Santa Barbara’s current economy.

Over the last month, hotel occupancies have gone down (due to the recent flooding), but Visit Santa Barbara has increased its ad spending by around 600%, generating about 424,000 users who followed the ad to a local business’ website. For businesses looking for more public relations, VSB suggests using TikTok.

In other good news, the Santa Barbara Airport’s capacity has gone up by 21%, allowing more tourists to fly in, and leisure and hospitality jobs have fully recovered to pre-COVID numbers (about 28,600). That’s according to numbers announced at the

Buying a home in 2023: why and how to make it a reality

For two years, the market was running at warp speed.

Then, with the uptick in mortgage rates and volatility in financial markets, there was a noticeable pullback in the real estate market.

However, despite national headlines, Santa Barbara continues to hold its value as current and prospective homeowners recognize the allure of living in paradise.

If you have been on the fence about purchasing a home, here are some important things to consider:

• The value of long-term thinking and planning:

Santa Barbara’s median price in 1990 was $271,500. In 2021, the median price was $1.5 million. This means the market appreciated, on average, 6.3% per year over those 32 years. In 2022, the median home price was $2,104,000, a 12% increase over 2021.

If you see yourself living in your new home for five, seven or 10-plus years, the long-term appreciation will likely create positive equity for you. One of my favorite sayings is, “Time in the market, not timing the market.” Nobody can truly predict where the market will go in the short term, and timing the market is next to impossible.

being based on bonds and inflation directly impacts the returns on bonds. Reports of good news on the inflation front have longer-term rates like mortgages showing hope for the future.

It is important to remember rates change. Another favorite saying is, “Marry the home, date the rate.”

• Pay your mortgage, not someone else’s: Historically high rents are feeding the buyer pool. Evaluating rent-vs.buy calculations and the pros/cons of renting vs. buying leaves many buyers understandably eager to enter the market. With rents consistently increasing and rentals becoming harder to come by, purchasing a home provides certainty that renting cannot. And think about it. Unless you are living rent-free, you’re paying a mortgage. Either yours or someone else’s.

REAL ESTATE UPDATE

ALYSSA ANN JONES

History shows us that buying earlier (time in the market) can be more lucrative than waiting for a significant decline (timing the market) — both in the quality of life it provides and your equity down the road.

• Playing fields are leveling:

In 2022, sales were down 35% over 2021, but so was inventory. Month to month, we have seen the number of pending and closed sales directly track that of new listings. Local months of supply have fluctuated between one and two months, with four to six months being considered the market neutral. This highlights the fact we are still in an undersupplied market and need more homes for sale.

Yet while this makes for a sellers’ market, the tides have begun to turn in favor of buyers. Buyers have started to see more negotiating power and days on the market have begun to increase, allowing them the time needed to make educated decisions.

• Rates are changing:

The No. 1 concern of most buyers is what is going to happen to mortgage rates.

Here is what we know. Rates have officially hit their lowest level in four months. The Fed is expected to keep increasing its Fed Funds Rate (different than the mortgage rates) to get inflation under control, but at a slower pace in the first part of 2023. This has directly impacted mortgage rates, allowing them to begin to drop.

This response to inflation data is due to rates

So how can you put your best foot forward?

• Partner with an experienced, local real estate agent: Purchasing a home is a major decision and will always be one of, if not the most, significant financial transactions you make. Having someone you can trust to help you do so is vital. Working exclusively with an experienced, local real estate agent will aid you exponentially. Finding an agent with whom you connect personally is paramount, as it facilitates your entire experience.

Our fiduciary duty is to act in your best interest, but our passion drives us to do so. We are here to find the right property for you, your budget and your timeline, as well as manage the process through closing and beyond. Working with an agent allows you access to pocket listings and the most up-to-date property information. Our wealth of knowledge on local market trends, neighborhoods, negotiation and paperwork is invaluable, and our relationships with other service providers and agents are essential. This is only a fraction of what we do.

Not to mention a reduction in stress levels. Need I say more?

Note: Many first-time home buyers don’t realize there is a differentiation between a buyer’s agent and a seller’s agent. (You don’t have to work with the agent selling the home, and generally, it is in your best interest not to). Connect with an agent before you start your search, not after.

• Seek off-market opportunities:

Working with an agent immersed in the market can help you identify off-market opportunities or the infamous “pocket listings.” This gives you a head start on other buyers and ultimately increases your chances of getting the home you want. As mentioned, inventory is still exceptionally low, so getting ahead

Please

summit.

To look at 2023’s travel conditions and its effect on travel behavior and look at how Santa Barbara might benefit from the various factors, Visit Santa Barbara brought in keynote speaker Clayton Reid, the

executive chairman at MMGY Global, who is known as one of the travel industry’s top minds in marketing and strategic planning.

Overall, Mr. Reid said Santa Barbara “should do really really well.”

Here are some of the

macrotrends he expects Santa Barbara to benefit from:

• There are an estimated 150 million Chinese tourists who are looking to travel to the U.S.

• The intent to travel to Europe has gone down.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Clayton Reid, executive chairman of MMGY Global, delivers the keynote address for Visit Santa Barbara’s Tourism Summit at the Cabrillo Pavilion.

“VSB has the best success when working together with businesses and residents in mind,” said Kathy Janega-Dykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara.

American Riviera Bancorp sees increase in income

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

American Riviera Bancorp did better in 2022 than the previous year. The company this week announced an unaudited income of $13.5 million ($2.37 per share) for 2022.

That’s up from $11.8 million ($2.09 per share) in 2021.

American Riviera Bancorp is the holding company of American Riviera Bank, a Santa Barbarabased bank with branches in

Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta, San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles.

The company’s unaudited net income was $4 million ($0.70 per share) for the three months that ended Dec. 31. That’s up from $2.7 million ($0.49 per share) earned during the same period in 2021.

American Riviera Bancorp said the increase is primarily because of loan growth, increased interest income on liquid assets and a strong deposit base.

“We are pleased to report improved profitability, continued loan growth, expanding capital

Chamber of commerce plans mixer

LOMPOC — The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce plans to host a chamber mixer and open house Feb. 9 at CALM.

The event will take place from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at 110 South C St.

The chamber describes the mixer as a place to make new friends, enjoy snacks and drinks, and be entered for a chance to win a local prize. You can also meet the team at CALM, tour office and therapy

ratios, strong credit quality, and a balance sheet supported by local deposits from relationship clients,” said Jeff DeVine, president and CEO of the company and bank.

“The Federal Reserve’s actions to date to increase rates and remove excess liquidity from the financial system have only modestly decelerated loan growth and increased funding costs,” Mr. DeVine said in a news release.

email: dmason@newspress.com

spaces, and learn about how CALM is serving families throughout Lompoc.

CALM’s mission is to prevent childhood trauma and heal children and families.

CALM envisions safe communities where every family is supported and every child thrives.

Those planning to attend the mixer are asked to RSVP by Feb. 3 by calling 805-741-7460 or emailing smclean@calm4kids.org.

For more about CALM, go to calm4kids.org.

— Caleb Beeghly

Visit Santa Barbara partners with UCSB to offer Hospitality Management curriculum

TOURISM

Continued from Page A5

• Older travelers are the wealthiest travelers. Mr. Reid added that 24% of older travelers self-report handicaps, both physical and mental, so accessibility is a key factor.

On the other hand, there are also some potential “disruptions” this year. Mr. Reid mentioned that the media’s negativity can make people less likely to travel, American household savings are at 2%, and credit card debt is higher now than it has been in two decades. The “metaverse” is gaining traction.

But just as businesses are itching to get back into the swing of things, people are wanting to travel – despite natural disasters, Mr. Reid said. After a natural disaster happens in a place, experts project how long it will take for people to want to travel again to that location. Mr. Reid conveyed that the time is much lower than

has been projected. For instance, an unnamed town was hit by a hurricane. Mr. Reid said it was projected that it would take 110 days for tourists to return. But tourists returned after one week.

People want to travel, but they want it to be easy. Mr. Reid boiled down the consumer’s wants to three things: control, reliability and leadership from brands. People do not want to go on vacation to just build more stress, but people look to hospitality companies to remove the stress for them, he said.

For instance, despite it being the Digital Age, usage of travel advisers went up 20%. These three consumer priorities seem to be a result of COVID-19 and its restrictions, but it is also an indicator that people are looking to connect with people.

They want to see people and talk to them because they haven’t for so long.

According to Mr. Reid, 64% of people prioritize brands when

purchasing products and 91% of people think that authenticity is one of the most important factors for brands. As a result, Mr. Reid suggests corporate social responsibility.

In addition to the report of trends, Visit Santa Barbara revealed its plans for stimulating growth in the hospitality industry.

One plan is a “Third Night Free” deal at participating hotels. (Hotels can still participate by contacting VSB.)

Visit Santa Barbara has also partnered with UCSB to create and teach a Hospitality Management curriculum. There is a one-day workshop that is launching in the spring, and there will be a weeklong boot camp and certificate program that are still being developed. If you are not interested in taking a Hospitality Management program, Visit Santa Barbara is also looking for certified teachers.

email: cbeeghly@newspress.com

Tips on buying a home in 2023

JONES

Continued from Page A5

sun is shining, you’re sitting somewhere between the ocean and a stunning mountain range, and you are in a position to be considering purchasing a home. With the above knowledge, a little confidence, and the right team on your side, your dreams will come true.

Wishing you a beautiful 2023.

Alyssa Ann Jones is a Realtor with Village Properties along with her partner John Sener (together: Sener Jones Associates). With family roots in Santa Barbara dating back to 1878, Ms. Jones deeply connects to and understands what makes this community special. Together they offer 40 years of experience and a unique, trusted and powerful brand of expert knowledge with an extensive suite of services. For more information, go to senerjonesassociates.com.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Kathy Janega-Dykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara, provides industry updates before the large audience.

DignityMoves announces effort to house homeless individuals

COURTESY PHOTOS

DignityMoves built this interim housing in downtown Santa Barbara for homeless individuals. With the help of Good Samaritan’s intensive supportive services, numerous residents have found jobs, enrolled in programs, and/or moved into permanent housing, according to DignityMoves.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

DignityMoves announced the DignityNOW Santa Barbara County initiative this week to create sufficient interim housing for unsheltered, homeless individuals.

On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors unanimously supported the updated Community Action Plan, which calls for the development of several DignityMoves villages totaling approximately 437 beds, more than closing the existing shelter gap of 432 beds countywide.

The 2018 Santa Barbara County Community Action Plan to End Homelessness identified the need for an additional 563 interim shelter beds across the county. Three years later, the 2021 status report showed progress towards that goal, but 432 beds are still needed.

Around that time, the county began talking with DignityMoves about how its model might accelerate progress toward that goal.

In February 2022, DignityMoves

started construction on a 34-room community in downtown Santa Barbara in partnership with Santa Barbara County and Good Samaritan Shelters.

Completed in less than six months, the community has been fully occupied since inception with a waiting list of more than 100 people, according to DignityMoves, which added it has been positively embraced by neighbors and local businesses. With the help of Good Samaritan’s intensive supportive services, numerous residents have found jobs, enrolled in programs, and/or moved into permanent housing, according to DignityMoves.

DignityMoves’ interim supportive housing is different from traditional shelters because everyone gets their own room, with a door that locks. Designed for emergency housing building codes, the prefabricated housing is quickly assembled and cost-effective, according to DignityMoves.

Each cabin unit has a bed, a desk, a chair, heating and air conditioning, a window and privacy. The communities also

include shared bathroom and shower facilities, dining buildings, patio decks, computer labs, community gardens, pet areas and staff offices.

The housing is paired with wrap-around social services, providing the residents an opportunity to get off the streets and take steps to improve their lives to find permanent housing and employment, according to DignityMoves.

The success of this first DignityMoves program has spurred the county Board of Supervisors to identify several additional countyowned sites for DignityMoves villages across the county.

“The Board of Supervisors is committed to making a tangible impact on homelessness within the county by blending critical support services with dignified housing,” Terri Maus-Nisich, assistant Santa Barbara County executive officer, said in a news release. “DignityMoves is a critical partner in sheltering the homeless with its innovative, nimble and affordable housing model. DignityMoves is that missing piece of the puzzle, which provides a real opportunity

to shelter and serve the most vulnerable in our communities.”

The next community in the DignityNOW Santa Barbara initiative is already under way in Santa Maria.

The 94-room Hope Village will host three different specialized programs: 11 of the rooms will be operated by Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley, an organization specializing in the needs of transitional age youth between 18 to 24, many of whom are leaving the foster care system.

In collaboration with Dignity Health’s Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, 30 of the rooms will be reserved for individuals experiencing homelessness who have acute medical conditions or other complex needs and require care in a safe environment.

The remaining rooms will be focused on serving residents experiencing homelessness within Santa Maria, operated by Good Samaritan Shelter. Hope Village is slated to open to residents by August.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Schneider could be facing 40-year sentence if tried in U.S.

ERINGER

Continued from Page A3

the second instance in which an intelligence official I encountered while directing Monaco intelligence is facing serious criminal charges. The first was Frank Schneider, foreign intelligence chief of the Luxembourg service, who, after retiring at a young age due to a domestic political wire-tapping scandal, associated himself with One Coin, a cryptocurrency outfit that turned out to be a sham.

In 2001, Mr. Schneider was indicted by New

York Southern District Court following a grand jury investigation into fraud and money laundering. He remains under house arrest in France, which last year ordered his extradition to the U.S. and from where he is trying to change the venue of his prosecution to Luxembourg, though the prime minister of his native country says there are no legal grounds for such circumvention.

Frank is looking at 40 years (if/when tried in the U.S.) for his complicity with Ruja Ignatova, a Bulgarian known as “CryptoQueen,” who founded the $4 billion One Coin Ponzi scheme — and then,

when the jig was up, disappeared without a trace.

I quite liked Frank. I still do, believing he got caught up in something way over his head while allowing greed to get the better of him. And I feel great sadness for his family.

Clearly, there is something about intelligence work that brings out the funambulist in some of its practitioners. Robert Eringer is a longtime Montecito author with vast experience in investigative journalism. He welcomes questions or comments at reringer@gmail.com.

of ONDAS Student Center programs, workshops, and activities, including the development of new projects and programs. Responsible for updating and coordinating the ONDAS Student Center social media and UCSB Platforms. Assists in the hiring, intensive training, and continuous training of student staff. Reqs: High School diploma or GED. Experience working in an academic or office setting. Note: Satisfactory conviction history background check. Budgeted hourly salary $26.09 - $27.90 hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/

SY wrestling takes on Santa Maria

The Santa Ynez wrestling teams took on Santa Maria in a senior night matchup that saw both girls and boys defeated.

Despite the rough night, Santa Ynez honored seniors Alex DeLaCruz, Triston Lake and Anthony Escobar.

Coming away with wins for the Santa Ynez girls team were Malia Ortiz and Hailee Taylor.

For the boys team, victories were earned by Santa Ynez’ Evan Gotschall, Santino Alvaro, Ben Flores, Fernando Nunez, Triston Lake, Angel Gonzalez and Jack DeLaCruz.

Carp girls basketball lose to Santa Paula in OT

The Carpinteria girls basketball team fell to Santa Paula on Thursday by a score of 50-43.

The game was close throughout, with the first quarter ending with a one-point Cardinals advantage and the second quarter ending with a five-point Warriors advantage. The third quarter saw Santa Paula pull within one before tying the game in the fourth to force overtime.

In overtime, Carpinteria was outscored 12-5 to take the loss.

“Though we are disappointed in the outcome, we feel good about our competitive effort, never say die attitude and commitment,” said Carpinteria Coach Henry Gonzales.

The Warriors will carry a 1011 overall record and 4-5 league record into today’s game against Hueneme.

Bishop Diego girls basketball wins over St. Bonaventure

The Bishop Diego girls basketball team brought home a 43-36 victory over St. Bonaventure.

A quartet of freshmen were the statistical leaders for Santa Ynez. Helina Pecile recorded a double-double to lead the way, contributing 11 points and 20 rebounds to go along with five steals. Rylan Agin and Lexi Molera each scored eight points, with Agin also adding five rebounds. Elena Sleiman provided a balanced performance with four points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals.

SM boys soccer defeats SB

The San Marcos High boys soccer team earned a Senior Night victory over Santa Barbara, winning by a score of 4-1.

The game began with a San Marcos goal by Justin Hess with an assist from Jose Ramirez. This was quickly followed by an answering goal by Santa Barbara. The score would remain tied at one until the end of the game, which saw three goals scored in rapid succession by San Marcos’ Favi Rosales, Leonel Olivo and Luke Sheffey.

The Royals are not 12-0 in league play and 13-1-2 overall. The team will next play on Monday at Oxnard.

DP boys soccer falls to Pacifica

The Dos Pueblos High boys soccer team lost to Pacifica on Thursday, falling by a score of 2-1. Dos Pueblos scored quickly in the first half, making the score 1-0 at just the two minute mark. Thirty minutes later, Pacifica tied the game at one heading into the half. The score would stay tied until the 77th minute, when Pacifica claimed the lead on a penalty kick.

Dos Pueblos falls to 3-10-3 with the loss, with a 3-6-3 record in league play.

DP girls water polo dispatches Mira Costa

FINANCE AND PROCUREMENT

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INFAVOROFPayneGreenc/oMartinCohn,5290OverpassRd.,Bldg.C,SantaBarbara,CA93111 ANDAGAINSTRoseMarieAldanaakaRosaArredondo,10S.AlisosSt.,SantaBarbara,CA93103. Forthesumof$318,529.80Dollars;

IHAVELEVIEDuponalltheright,titleclaimandinterestinthedebtor(s)RoseMarieAldanaaka RosaArredondo,intherealproperty,intheCountyofSantaBarbara,describedasfollows:

THELANDREFERREDTOHEREINBELOWISSITUATEDINTHECITYOFSANTABARBARA, COUNTYOFSANTABARBARA,STATEOFCALIFORNIA,ANDISDESCRIBEDASFOLLOWS:

ThatportionoftheBlock330intheCityofSantaBarbara,CountyofSantaBarbara,Stateof California,describedasfollows:

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APN:017-171-07

Minimum Bid: $335,195.46

“ProspectivebiddersshouldrefertoSections701.510to701.680,inclusive,oftheCodeofCivil Procedureforprovisionsgoverningtheterms,conditions,andeffectofthesaleandtheliabilityof defaultingbidders.”(CCP701.547)

PUBLICNOTICEISHEREBYGIVENthatIwillproceedtosellatpublicauctiontothehighest bidderforcashinlawfulmoneyoftheUnitedStatesalltheright,title,claimandinterestofthe debtor(s)intheabovedescribedpropertyorsomuchaswillbesufficienttosatisfysaidWritwith interestandallcostsonFebruary21,2023,atten o’clockAM,attheSheriff’sCivilUnit,1105Santa BarbaraStreet,SantaBarbara,California,93101. DatedatSantaBarbara,CaliforniaonJanuary26,2023.

Lily Simolon led the team with 15 points and ten rebounds while Galilea De La Cruz scored ten points.

“It was a tight game going back and forth until the last few minutes,” said Bishop Diego Coach Jeff Burich. “We led 17-14 at halftime and every time we gave up the lead we would get a big 3 point shot.

“In the fourth quarter, the defense of Citlali Morales, Lily Simolon and Siena Urzua late in the game was the difference,” Burich added.

Bishop Diego now sports a 20-3 overall record with a 4-1 mark in league play. The team will return to action on Thursday at Foothill Tech.

DP girls basketball loses to Oxnard

The Dos Pueblos girls basketball team lost to Oxnard on Thursday, falling by a score of 5739.

“Every game is a must win game for us from here on out. Our energy and effort was not there tonight. When the energy, effort, and communication is there we can play with and beat any team in the league,” said Dos Pueblos Coach Manny Murillo. I was very happy with Evette Allen and Gianna Nichols’ they combined for 22 rebounds and never stopped playing hard! They were going for every rebound and loose ball. We need some more of that energy on Saturday. That has nothing to do with skill but everything to do with effort and the will to win.”

Dos Pueblos was led by Evette Allen and Lauren Robles with eight points each.

Dos Pueblos will play Oxnard again tonight, carrying a 10-14 overall record into the game.

SY girls basketball falls to Templeton

The Santa Ynez girls basketball team lost to Templeton, falling by a score of 51-41.

UCSB baseball tickets on sale

UCSB baseball has announced that 2023 season tickets are now on sale. Season ticket holders can catch all 29 home games at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium as the Gauchos look to earn the program’s fifth Big West Conference championship and return to the postseason. Collegiate Baseball News ranks UCSB 14th in the country heading into this season. The Gauchos’

The Dos Pueblos High girls water polo team won in dominant fashion against Mira Costa on Thursday, outscoring their opponents 15-7 in the opening round of the SoCal Girls Invite. Emma Gilbert led the team in scoring with a season-high eight goals, single-handedly outscoring Mira Costa. Alina King provided six assists in the game and Megan Garner recorded fourteen blocks. Dos Pueblos improves to 12-7 with the win, with a league mark of 6-1.

Carp girls water polo dominates Hueneme

The Carpinteria girls water polo team won in dominant fashion against Hueneme on Thursday, overcoming their opponents by a score of 12-1.

Carpinteria was led by Giulia Piccoletti’s seven goals. Taylor Classen and Lilli Nemetz each supplied two goals while Kate Isaac added one.

The win gives Carpinteria a 60 Citrus Coast League record and a 13-4 mark overall. The team will return to action on Monday against Santa Paula.

SM overcomes

Bishops in Newport Elite Eight Tournament

The San Marcos girls water polo team faced off against Bishops in their first game of the Newport Elite Eight Tournament, coming away with a 19-13 win. Ava Stryker led the way for San Marcos, scoring six goals and earning three ejections. Sophia Panossian scored four times while Charlotte Rasin added two goals to go along with a block, four steals and three assists and Regan McEachen scored three goals.

Goalie Lauren Schweitzer got six saves in the game.

- Compiled by Matt Smolensky

home slate begins on Feb. 17, welcoming Oregon to town for a four-game series. Single-game tickets for all 29 home games are also now on sale. The Gauchos are offering free admission to children 12 and under for all Saturday and Sunday games this season until capacity is met. All ticket information and pricing is available at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets or by calling (805) 893-8272.

- Eric Boose

Life theArts

INSIDE

A look back at the history of washing clothes

Ask the Gold Digger - B4

CALENDAR

Owls, opossum and more

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The winter edition of its popular free Winter Family Day event at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, 1511-B Mission Drive in Solvang, returns from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb.

12.

Now twice-yearly, the event invites visitors to bring the whole family and enjoy free museum admission along with a day of art and nature-inspired activities.

Included will be a live owl meet-and-greet by Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s “Eyes in the Sky,” a wildlife education program featuring rescued birds of prey.

During the 11 a.m. presentation, visitors will meet Puku, a western screech-owl, and Athena, a barn owl, and learn more about native raptors in this region.

Later in the afternoon, attendees can look forward to an opossum presentation at 1:30 p.m. by Santa Ynez Valley opossum rehabilitator Dawn Summerlin, who will be bringing along a rescued opossum and teaching visitors about these environmentally beneficial marsupials.

Also available will be art activities inspired by artist-inresidence Kerrie Smith’s “Portals & Pathways” installation and hands-on activities for all ages.

“We are so delighted to offer our Winter Family Day. Thanks to support from the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, this is an entirely free day for all,” said Stacey OtteDemangate, the Wildling Museum executive director. “We hope local families take this opportunity to explore our exhibitions and enjoy learning about some of our local wildlife.”

The “Eyes in the Sky’’ program has been Santa Barbara Audubon’s key wildlife education program since 2000. It features five birds of prey — three owls and two falcons — that serve as education ambassadors.

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled: Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/ museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. An art and wellness workshop for adults will meet at the Vita Art Center, 28 W. Main St. in Ventura. Cost is $98. 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The Search for the Modern West,” an exhibit, continues through Feb. 20 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, see sullivangoss.com or call the gallery at 805-730-1460.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit “Parliament of Owls” runs through Feb. 5 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, go to www.sbnature.org.

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Chamber Players orchestra will perform at the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, 305 E. Anapamu St. Tickets cost $16. To purchase, go to sbchamberplayers.org.

JAN. 31

6 p.m. Nick Hornby will discuss his book, “Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius,” with fellow writer Jessica Anya Blau at Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza, Santa Barbara. Mr. Hornby will also sign copies of his book. For more information, call Chaucer’s at 805-682-6787 or go to www.chaucersbooks.com.

FEB. 1

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann.com.

FEB. 2

8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Santa Ynez Tribal Health Clinic will provide free dental care for local children during its third annual Give Kids A Smile event on Feb. 2. The free day of exams, cleanings and more will take place at the clinic, located on the Chumash Reservation at 90 Via Juana Lane,l Santa Ynez.

FEB. 5 Free admission will be available on this day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Ventura County,

Please see CALENDAR on

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 2023

COURTESY PHOTO

Nick Hornby will discuss his book, “Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius” Tuesday at Chaucer’s Books in Santa Barbara.

PHOTO COURTESY SANTA BARBARA AUDUBON SOCIETY

In life and love, keep a sense of humor

Humor in relationships is important. Life cannot be serious all the time, and though I know that sometimes it has to be that way, no one can live like that constantly.

You have to make room for a little lightheartedness if you want to have a balanced love life. Being able to laugh is healthy for everyone.

Humor — if used correctly — can help defuse uncomfortable situations. A sense of humor in a relationship has been recognized as so important that there’s an annual conference on how to use humor in therapy. Yes, it can make a difference in your relationship.

Cultivating humor in your relationship requires that you both are respectful in your banter. This is not stand-up comedy or razor-sharp repartee.

It is two people playing with words and with each other. Keep it harmless, blameless, and don’t ever use humor as a weapon.

Once you have those ground rules clear, it will make it easier and safer to have more fun with each other.

Humor in a relationship is not just about saying funny things; it’s also about doing things together with a sense of humor. I know couples who crack each other up so much, it can take them hours to do the dishes. They are having that much fun together.

Even if you don’t think you are especially funny, you can approach your life and love with a fine sense of humor. It’s not about making jokes that rival the likes of Jerry Seinfeld. It’s about seeing the lighter side of living and reveling in it. Life can be ironic, and that can be fun and funny. It’s worth the effort to find the humor in life and appreciate your mate for his or hers.

Everyone has his or her own style, and if your loved one’s humor is not to your liking, you

need to have a conversation about it and set appropriate boundaries. Some folks enjoy insulting, or put-down, humor, and that won’t work for you in a relationship.

Jokes or actions have to be lifeenhancing, and they should never make things worse. It is always wise to think before you speak, and if you think your mate might take what you are about to say in the wrong way, don’t say it.

One of the signs of a healthy relationship is when you are facing a difficult situation, and you both can see some humor in it. That means that no matter what you are facing, you will get through it together and be able to smile (at times) through the process. We cannot travel through life without hitting a few speed bumps. When you can find the

humor in it, things will go much easier for both of you. Sometimes that may take a little effort, and perhaps you will find something amusing and your partner will not, or the other way around, and that’s OK. A sense of humor may be the best friend (next to your mate) that you can have when the world isn’t working the way you would like it to.

Dr. Barton Goldsmith, is a psychotherapist in Westlake, Calif., is the author, most recently, of “100 Ways to Boost Your Self-Confidence — Believe in Yourself and Others Will Too.” E-mail him at Barton@ BartonGoldsmith.com. Follow his daily insights at www.twitter. com/BartonGoldsmith He is the author of eight books and a blogger for PsychologyToday. com with more than 28 million readers. He is available for video consults worldwide. Reach him at barton@bartongoldsmith.com. His column appears Saturdays and Mondays in the News-Press.

‘Rec on the Move’ continues in February

SANTA MARIA

— The Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department will continue its popular “Rec on the Move” program through February.

“Rec on the Move” is a safe and supervised program where elementary school-age youth participate in free games and physical education activities. No registration is required to participate.

Beginning Wednesday, the program will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays at five local parks:

• Mondays: Buena Vista Park, 800 S. Pine

St.

• Tuesdays: Bob Orach Park, 1800 Westgate Road.

• Wednesdays: Tunnell Park, 1100 N. Palisade Drive.

• Thursdays: Newlove Community Building, 1619 S. Thornburg.

• Fridays: Russell Park, 1000 W. Church St.

“A Sweet February” program will offer Valentine’s themed activities from 4 to 5 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays in February at the Minami Community Center, 600 W. Enos Drive.

Activities include friendship keychains and felt envelopes, picture frames and ceramic hearts, wreath making and love bugs, and a Valentine’s Day STEAM challenge.

Registration is required for each session. Participants can register online at www. cityofsantamaria.org/register.

Questions may be directed to the Recreation and Parks Department at 805925-0951, ext. 2260.

— Marilyn McMahon

Doris Kearns Goodwin to speak at Westmont President’s Breakfast

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Doris Kearns Goodwin, worldrenowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, will speak at the 18th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. March 10 in the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.

Tickets cost $125 per person and go on sale at 9 a.m. Feb. 10 at westmont.edu/breakfast. Seating is limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Ms. Goodwin has written seven critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling books, including her most recent, “Leadership in Turbulent Times,” which examines the lives and leadership skills of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. She won the Pulitzer Prize in history for “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II,” and she has written bestsellers “Wait Till Next Year, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream” and “The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys,” adapted into an award-winning, five-part TV miniseries.

Ms. Goodwin’s book, “The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt,

William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism,” is a dynamic history of the tumultuous first decade of the Progressive era.

Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios acquired the film rights to the book, and he previously acquired the rights to her book “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln,” which was the basis for his 2012 award-winning film “Lincoln.”

Since 2020, Ms. Goodwin has served as executive producer for the History Channel’s miniseries events “Washington,” “Abraham Lincoln” and “Theodore Roosevelt.”

Ms. Goodwin, who spoke at the President’s Breakfast in 2015, is the first luminary invited to return to speak at the event. email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

FYI

The 18th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast will take place 7 to 9 a.m. March 10 in the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd., Santa Barbara. For more information, visit www. westmont.edu.

Three county schools honored for exemplary arts education

ABRIDGED

FAR

BY MICHAEL SCHLOSSBERG / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Three Santa Barbara County schools have been selected for the 2023 California Exemplary Arts Education Award by the California Department of Education.

They are Cold Spring School in the Cold Spring School District in Montecito, Franklin Elementary School in the Santa Barbara Unified School District and Los Berros Visual and Performing Arts Academy in the Lompoc Unified School District.

Awardees will hold the title for three years.

“We are grateful to these schools for demonstrating a strong commitment to quality arts education for all students and for promoting socialemotional well-being and increased academic performance through arts education,” said

CALENDAR

Continued from Page B1

the Museum of Ventura County’s Agriculture Museum and the Santa Paula Museum. For more information, visit socalmuseums.org.

FEB. 8

8 p.m. Transform Through Arts will present 10 dance companies in “Colors of Love” at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. General admission costs $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are $25 for students. To purchase, go to www.centerstagetheater.org.

FEB. 12

Noon. Participants in Ted Nash’s workshop will go on stage at the Mary Craig Auditorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State

Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools. “Imagination, wonder and creativity are essential in our schools, and arts education provides a way for students to dream, aspire and achieve.”

The Exemplary Arts Education Award recognizes schools that offer at least three arts disciplines (dance, media arts, music, theater and/or visual arts) during the regular school day, while also ensuring that arts instruction is accessible to all student populations. Awarded schools become model arts programs for the California Department of Education.

A celebration will take place in February at the California School Recognition Program Ceremony in Anaheim.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

St. The free program is called “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance and Evolution” and will feature student composers, performers and writers from Mr. Nash’s workshop.

FEB. 14

6 to 7:30 p.m. Nicole Lvoff and Joe Woodard will perform on Valentine’s Day at the Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. Their music varies from Beatles songs to jazz standards. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

FEB. 18

7 to 9 p.m. The Nicole Lvoff Jazz Trio will perform at Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. There’s no cover. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

— Dave Mason

Doris Kearns Goodwin

Diversions

Thought for Today

“What do you hang on the walls of your mind?”

— Eve Arnold

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Saturday, January 28, 2023

ARIES — Romantic novels and movies could be more appealing than usual today, Aries. You’re in an especially intense mindset. If you’re involved, your relationship could be near the point where it has to move ahead or end. Chances are it will move ahead.

If you aren’t attached, your loving nature will attract more than one potential partner into your aura.

TAURUS — Your financial situation could get a strong boost today, Taurus. This might be due to a contract you’ve just signed, perhaps involving some work you will do on your own rather than for an employer. The project may have strong personal significance. The creative arts could be involved, as well as technology.

GEMINI — Today you may decide to study healing, Gemini. You could read about alternative methods regarding diet, herbs, aromatherapy, massage, or acupuncture. You might decide to learn some hands-on methods. Whether or not you ever practice any of these professionally, learning about them should transform your life for the better on both physical and emotional levels. Make the most of it.

CANCER — Today you might decide to sign up for an advanced course of some kind, Cancer. This might include world religions or perhaps meditation. Stay out of bookstores, both physical and online. You might spend a fortune on books on your chosen subject. The effect of this is likely to be more profound than a simple accumulation of knowledge.

LEO — A group of friends may invite you to attend a festival or workshop involving the creative arts or metaphysical studies, or perhaps both, Leo. You might resist at first, but once you get there you will find the subject and instructor captivating. Afterward, you won’t want to talk about it. You will be too preoccupied with your thoughts.

VIRGO — If you’ve considered a career in healing, psychic, or spiritual studies or the creative arts, Virgo, today the opportunity to make that dream a reality could come your way. A close friend could open the door for you. Your own psychic and artistic abilities should be

operating at a very high level, so don’t be intimidated.

LIBRA — Romance could be on your mind today, Libra. This could be due to a recent wonderful encounter with a love partner. Since then, listening to romantic music may have enhanced your feelings. You will want to schedule another meeting, but you might hold back because you don’t want to seem pushy.

SCORPIO — A very beautiful, romantic dream could inspire exalted artistic activities today, Scorpio. You might want to paint, draw, write, compose music, sew, or cook up a new recipe. Whatever you do, you won’t do it simply for your own amusement. You will want to show your work to others and seek their opinions and approval.

SAGITTARIUS — A rush of intense love and romantic passion for a special someone might turn your mind toward marriage, Sagittarius. The wedding of a friend may contribute to these thoughts. Your partner may still have doubts about moving to the next level of commitment, even though there’s no question that he or she truly loves you.

CAPRICORN — Today you could experience a strong desire to clear your psyche of past traumas that limit you, Capricorn. You may decide to register for a seminar or workshop of some kind. If you sign up today, all signs are that you will not only attain the results you want but you will also meet some interesting new people.

AQUARIUS — Love, passion, romance, and marriage - your mind will focus on these matters all day even if there’s no special person in your life right now, Aquarius. If you are involved, don’t be surprised if talk of a long-term commitment creeps into your conversations with your beloved. If you aren’t involved, someone new and exciting could appear on the scene.

PISCES — The approach of a very special visitor might cause you to thoroughly clean your house, Pisces. Afterward, you could look for new and interesting ways to dress it up with some new plants, throw pillows, or other decorative touches. This can be tiresome, but definitely worthwhile. When your friend arrives, he or she will feel at home. Work hard and then make yourself look great.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, January 28, 2023

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on improving basic technique and developing logical thinking.

The cheetahs made it into the Ark, but so did the snails. Take your time as declarer. Form a plan before you play. Hasty play has scuttled many easy contracts.

Today’s auction was hit-or-miss: South’s 4NT Blackwood bid was an error since North could have held a hand such as Q J 2, Q 8 7 4, K J 8, A 10 5. Against six hearts, West led the deuce of spades, and the play ended early when South finessed with dummy’s queen. East took the king and cashed his ace of clubs.

TWO SPADES

Apparently, declarer never met a finesse he didn’t like. Even assuming that West had the king of spades, South needed to pick up the trump suit to make his slam. But if he could draw trumps, he could then run the diamonds to pitch two spades from dummy, losing only a club to the ace. South’s play of the queen of spades was a “practice finesse” that couldn’t gain even it won. He must take the ace and finesse in trumps.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: 9

Only your side is vulnerable. The dealer, at your right, opens three clubs.

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday through Saturday.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid.

Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

PUZZLE

What do you say?

ANSWER: This problem is awkward and would divide an expert panel. If you double and partner responds three spades, you can’t strand him there, but if you continue with four diamonds, he may think you have a better hand. Bid three diamonds though you would make that call with less strength. South dealer

Washboard, painting inspire a look back at the history of washing clothes

What are these objects I list here, and what were they used for?

I’m referring to washbats, washboards, a washbox, washing dollies, peggy legs, possers, possing sticks, dollypegs, peggy, maiden, plunger, ponches and punchers?”

All these were used to wash clothes with or without a washtub, and sometimes at the edge of a stream or river, or inside a public washhouse, or off a boat, or in the public fountain.

J.E. has an early 20thcentury washboard, and this is the American cousin of the objects listed above, in use by the 1860s across the nation but invented in 1833 by Stephen Rust of New York, who patented a wood frame that held a fluted piece of tin, iron or zinc. These ridges dislodged dirt from clothing. Advertisements for these things can be found in the mid-19th-century, but by the later part of the 1800s, the boards were “improved” by Herman Liebmann of Chicago, who replaced the metal plate insert in the board with ridged glass or porcelain. This is the version J.E. has.

Laundry day was an ordeal, which for years was done by specialist washerwomen — if the family could afford such help.

In many parts of the world, getting clothes and linens clean was done once a week, or once a month, or once a year depending on the item. Usually the day was Monday, especially in those traditionally Catholic countries, because in many cases it took quite a few days to wash, dry and fold the linen, and the family wanted peace and no work on Sunday.

It’s easy today to think that a garment is dried in the dryer, but even a warm room was hard to find in some parts of the world. Where most of the year was rainy and cold, laundry was an ordeal; and sometimes done only in the sunlit months.

Before the washboard, there were washing bats, flat wooden ridged boards with a long handle,

which could be used to beat and or agitate, and to lever clothing from a tub or river. Decorative washing bats could be found in the 18th and 19th centuries in Finland, Norway and Italy. Tilted boards with a slope for the water to drain mounted on legs were found in England, and used art on the side of a river or side of a tub.

J.E. also sent me a painting of washing day in France, in the Impressionistic style, with an illegible signature. This shows us the early tradition of riverside washing day in France, a subject beloved of French artists. You see two washerwomen — one in a tub or in a three sided box, and the other on a ledge — with a pile of linen to wash in the foreground, which appears to have been soaked in bluing or lye.

A French tradition was the three-sided box lined with straw in which washerwomen knelt at the side of the river. The box kept the skirts dry. Across the front at an angle the women held a washboard or bat. One of the women appears to be on the

WINTER

water, and this was done as well in a small wooden tub at the river edge. Some washerwomen in continental Europe washed on washing benches, which could be set in shallow water. The object was to pulverize the fabric. Different bats and boards and plungers (like a toilet plunger) were used depending on the strength of the fabric. The object was water flow. Fabrics when wet were heavy: washerwomen were very strong.

One travel writer, John Price Durbin, wrote “Observations in Europe 1844,” noting the “sturdy washerwomen (the job was physically demanding) by the side of French rivers with a washerwoman’s ark (a little wooden raft) or a bench at the side of the water; the bench was used to souse the clothes which would be beaten with a washing bat after soaking in the river ...” I love the old word “souse,” which means to drown or make sodden.

Today the word is associated with a “drunkard!”

Communal washing day

amongst washerwomen was common throughout Europe, either at river-edge, in a village washhouse, at the public fountain in the main square. In France, the bateau-lavoir was a communal laundry boat moored close to the riverbank.

J.E.’s washboard is common as an antique as most American homes had one, even after the invention of the mechanical washing machine with a drum in the 1860s. Of course, not every American household could afford such a thing, so washboards and tubs were de rigor. The value today is $50.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Saturdays in the News-Press. Written after her father’s COVID-19 diagnosis, Dr. Stewart’s book “My Darlin’ Quarantine: Intimate Connections Created in Chaos” is a humorous collection of five “what-if” short stories that end in personal triumphs over presentday constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

“These birds are in the care of ‘Eyes in the Sky’ because they cannot survive in the wild,” said Ms. OtteDemangate. “From blindness to broken wings, each bird had to be rescued because of a permanent disability. The birds’ unique stories of survival share a message about the impact that we as humans have on the lives of our ‘wild neighbors.’ ”

“Eyes in the Sky’s” goal is to foster respect and understanding for these wild species and their habitats. To learn more, visit www. santabarbaraaudubon.org/eyes-inthe-sky.

Ms. Summerlin, the opossum rehabilitator, was born and raised in upstate New York with a love of animals instilled in her by her parents.

“When I was a child, they never knew what I would bring home next,” she said. “While growing up, I always wanted to be a vet, but in my day, that wasn’t an option. Therefore, I became a nurse, graduating from Albany Medical Center School of Nursing.”

She continued nursing when she moved to California in the early 1970s.

For the last 22 years, Ms. Summerlin has specialized in rescuing and rehabilitating opossums.

“I have found that opossums are generally misunderstood by the average person, thinking they are rabid and fierce,” she said.

Inspired to support all underdogs, Ms. Summerlin has focused on these quiet, beneficial marsupials. Today, she is a satellite in the Santa Ynez Valley for the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.

Besides nurturing and nursing opossums to the point of being released, she also does presentations at schools, museums, retirement communities “and anyone else who will listen!” She also advises other rehabilitators about opossum care.

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

Continued from Page B1 FYI

The free Winter Family Day will take place 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 12 at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, 1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang. For more information, call 805-6881082 or visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/ news/2023-winter-family-day.

COURTESY PHOTOS

At left, this painting shows a washing day in France. worth $50 today, At right, this early 20th-century washboard reflects the American history of doing the laundry.

PHOTO COURTESY KERRIE SMITH

Art activities, above and below inspired by Artist-in-Residence Kerrie Smith’s “Portals & Pathways” installation are among the many offerings on Family Day at the Wildling Museum of Nature and Art.

Voices PAGE C1 GUEST OPINION ANDY CALDWELL: Why life and property are compromised / C2

As tensions about raising the nation’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling build, the headline that should be flashing in front of every American is that our country is not working.

Nothing is going to get fixed — really fixed — until we come clean about this basic, sad and distressing fact.

How can it be that we have national debt equal to the size of our entire $32 trillion economy?

And where were we all when this happened? As recently as 2008, the debt was 39.2%, rather than 100%, of our GDP.

One of the outcries that fueled the American revolution was taxation without representation. But this is exactly what is going on today.

Who is on the line for this $32 trillion debt? You and me.

There are two ways that federal spending can be financed. Taxes or debt. Politicians don’t like taxation

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention that members of the current generation of twentysomethings (let’s call them “Gen Z” although more appropriately “Gen Zinn”) do not think highly of the United States, to the point where many, if not most, say they “are not proud” to live in America or to be American.

Here’s why they feel that way.

Howard Zinn, the man who wrote the history book that an entire generation grew up reading and believing, was a left-wing activist. (Dr. Zinn, a history professor, died in 2010 at the age of 87.) For the past 40 years, schoolteachers have been using his “A People’s History of the United States” as reading material in the classroom.

You should know that Dr. Zinn participated in a political rally in Times Square with a group of communist acquaintances

SANTA

because they have to be honest with citizens that they are taking their money. Borrowing achieves the same end without asking.

The last thing Congress did before shutting down in the last session was pass another $1.7 trillion in spending. There were no taxes to pay for this. It gets layered onto the huge debt, which is on you and on me.

As economist Milton Friedman once said, “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” We pay for everything. Instead of paying our bills honestly through taxes, we bear the burden of debt through inflation and slow growth.

We must appreciate that the discussion about debt and spending is not about accounting. It is about principles.

Our national crisis stems from straying from the basic principles upon which a free nation under God was founded.

Dishonesty, irresponsibility and big government do not define a free nation under God.

Let’s consider the issue of socalled entitlements — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. About two-thirds of our annual spending consist of mandatory spending — entitlements. The rest is discretionary spending and interest paid on the debt.

Whenever I write that Social Security is an entitlement, I get letters saying, “Don’t call this an entitlement! I paid for it!”

But the label “entitlement” is a government label for payments that are mandatory for the government to make, as opposed to discretionary spending, like, for instance, defense spending.

Those who think this a personal right should ask if they are entitled to get it from the system. And the answer is, of course, no. The government remains entitled to

make you pay payroll taxes and then make payments to you when you retire. Government decides what those taxes and payments will be. And here we have more dishonesty.

Social Security is broke.

According to the system’s trustees, there are insufficient funds to meet obligations beginning 2034, 11 years from now. Every young American entering the workforce now must pay taxes into a system that does not have the resources to pay promised benefits. There is a lot of rhetoric whether entitlements should be part of the debt ceiling negotiations. And I agree, no. Not because these programs aren’t broken. But it is too complicated to fix in overnight negotiations.

Fixing Social Security should not be about cuts but about reform and changing the whole system.

The system is broken because it is not based on American principles of ownership and personal

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responsibility. It is based on government dependence.

Every American could earn far more, without taking on unnecessary risks, if they could take ownership of their payroll taxes and invest in a personal retirement account.

We have dishonesty and irresponsibility rampant because we have allowed the government to take over so much of our lives in a country where individuals are supposed to be free and responsible only to their Creator in Heaven.

It’s time for big changes in America. The only choice is whether we want to have a future or not.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators. com.

(described as a “peaceful rally” on howardzinn.org … where have you heard that before?) when mounted police charged the marchers. Dr. Zinn was hit and knocked unconscious.

He describes this experience as a turning point in his life. “From that moment on,” he writes, “I was no longer a liberal, a believer in the self-correcting character of American democracy.” His stated goal after the incident was “an uprooting of the old order.”

The book was published in 1980.

According to its publisher, it has sold over three million copies and continues to be used as a history textbook in public and private schools. Dr. Zinn’s book is written in easy-to-understand English, unlike most textbooks that are

often dry and even more often, boring, especially to students of the computer era whose attention spans are … shorter than students’ of earlier generations.

In the very first chapter, Dr. Zinn introduces young minds to a wholly different Christopher Columbus.

“I am not worried about disillusioning young people,” Dr. Zinn writes. “We should be able to tell the truth about people whom we have been taught to look upon as heroes, but who really don’t deserve that admiration.

“Why should we,” he asks, “think it heroic to do as Columbus did, arrive in this hemisphere and carry on a rampage of violence, in order to find gold?

The fact that Capt. Columbus steered his three small ships across an unknown ocean to an unknown world, with his crew

on the verge of mutiny every step of the way, that his bravery and determination to find a direct route to India by heading west rather than east, isn’t mentioned or acknowledged.

Dr. Zinn claims that Columbus, “like other informed people of his time, knew the world was round and he could sail west in order to get to the Far East.”

So, no big deal, smart people already knew one could get to India by sailing west.

Right. How come no one had done it?

In any case, even if you believed Columbus was a brave and industrious man, the reading of his exploits will quickly disabuse you of any of those notions.

Utilizing Bartolomé de las Casas’s “History of the Indies” (taken from Columbus’s journal accounts), de las Casas notes that “women in Indian society were treated so well as to startle the Spaniards.”

What follows is the description of an Eden-like environment, apparently spoiled and destroyed by the Europeans:

“Marriage laws are nonexistent: Men and women alike choose their mates and leave them as they please, without offense, jealousy or anger.

“Pregnant women work to the last minute and give birth almost painlessly; up the next day, they bathe in the river and are as clean and healthy as before giving birth. If they tire of their men, they give themselves abortions with herbs that force stillbirths …”

Really?

“Why should we find it heroic,” Dr. Zinn continues, “for Andrew Jackson to drive Indians out of their land? Why should we think of Theodore Roosevelt as a hero because he fought in the SpanishAmerican War, driving Spain out of Cuba, but also paving the

efore discussing State Street, Did You Know? wants to congratulate all who participated in supporting the efforts to make Rocky Nook Park a Santa Barbara County Historic Landmark, and to thank the county Board of Supervisors, who listened to the voice of the people.

B

A tireless champion of the Mission Creek area, Rosanne Crawford states, “Rocky Nook Park with its natural setting and connection to Chumash place names and culture is the most authentic part and oldest heritage of the three adjacent landmarks. This now creates a whole interconnected timeline with Mission Historical Park Landmark and the Old Mission Landmark.” A strong example of how participation and standing your ground does work for the good of the whole.Now, on to the state of State Street: Tess Harper and David Davis gave an update of the State Street Master Plan. We found it interesting amidst the back patting for their outreach efforts that after 5,000-6,000 participants in the surveys, that 79% want State Street to remain closed to cars, and 90% go downtown for food and drinks. The question “How many blocks should be closed?” wasn’t part of the survey.

The outreach was even conducted at schools where fifth through eighth graders were asked what they wanted on State Street. We heard them say a candy store and a soccer field. Wow. Tell that to a State Street investor or property owner.

What we found illuminating was that the three comparison cities used by MIG are nothing like Santa Barbara, at least not in the worldwide reputation for being a destination.

Of course, that may have been before the downturn. Today there are the vacant storefronts (52 empty out of 252) and the overpopulation of transients, some violent.

Another dissimilarity is that two of the three cities are not closed to vehicle traffic. San Luis Obispo (population 50,000) and Greenville, N.C., (pop. 70,000) are NOT closed to cars. And Pearl Street in Boulder, Co (pop. 100,000) is closed for only four blocks.

Why wouldn’t Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade be chosen for a comparison city and street?

The big question is: What will bring retail back to State Street, and will this three-ring circus bring enough paying customers to be fiscally sound? As it looks now, there is nothing stately, nor world class, about State Street.

A preview of what is fast becoming commonplace, and so sad for what is happening to Santa Barbara was on display during the Architectural Board of Review’s Jan. 23 meeting. Every project passed for project design approval and/ or final approval. All save the car wash on La Cumbre Road and the 6-unit AUD project at 515 W. Los Olivos St, were subpar, at least for the standards Santa Barbara used to be allowed to have. Of course, everything has changed with the implementation of Senate Bill 330, which determines that review boards have only five meetings to comment and give direction on a project, and must do so within 90 days.

The massive four-story, 82unit project at 711 N. Milpas St., aka 701 N. Milpas St., received project design approval, with conditions, from the Architectural Board of Review. Jarret Gorin represented the owners, loosely Alan Bleeker and Ed St. George. Mr. Gorin, who in his usual fashion asked for more, made a failed attempt to ask the board to remove the word “shall” from its PDA motion.

The ABR’s responsibilities are so diminished, partly

Financial woes reflect a nation that has lost its way America’s debt: $31.4 trillion IDEAS & COMMENTARY Please see DONOVAN on C4 Please see BUCKLEY on C4 Star Parker The author is with the Center for Urban Renewal and Education James Buckley PURELY POLITICAL COURTESY IMAGE

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

GUEST OPINION

Why

life and property are continuously compromised

As Santa Barbara County continues to dig out and rebuild after a nearly endless stream of atmospheric rivers hit our region, let us not waste what could be an immensely valuable teaching moment.

The very first lesson?

The protection of life and property is no longer the highest goal of government. Quite the contrary. This should be evident considering what has happened in our community over the past decade. A cycle of fires, floods and fools that resulted in heartbreaking fatalities and unbelievable destruction to neighborhoods and infrastructure.

The Thomas fire, among others, devastated the watershed. The devastated watershed then fomented the deadly debris flow in Montecito. And, five years later, despite a new debris basin and steel nets erected across canyons, we flooded once again, incurring some $150 million in damages, albeit with no loss of life.

How can we continue to ignore the fact that the cycle of fires and floods is neverending? How can we better prepare for the next cycle by way of mitigating the effects of these cyclical events?

The truth?

Our government won’t let us!

The second lesson pertains to floods. Santa Barbara lives on a very narrow shelf sandwiched between high mountains that produce copious amounts of water runoff and the ocean, which can wreak all sorts of damage by way of high waves and brutal winds. The sensible thing to do? Relative to flooding, we must ensure that every river, stream and creek is maintained to ensure maximum water flow capacities. Regarding storm damage from the ocean, we must armor the coast with sea walls and other types of protection, including the boulders that are currently being dropped in front of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club.

The problems with these common-sense strategies? Various government agencies seek to diminish the carrying capacity of water ways in their quest for preserving and enhancing riparian

Lake Cachuma

Lessons from the local storms

1.Flood Control, Fish and Wildlife and the other governmental agencies need to work together to let land owners and flood control clean out creeks. There is no reason for all the destruction if properly maintained. For example, see Alamo Pintado Creek at the State 246 bridge in Solvang, showing the damage to buildings, businesses and wiping out whatever ecosystem was in the creek. This is preventable.

habitat. To make waterways conducive to such things as fish passage, they don’t support the construction of debris basins and clearing rivers, streams and creeks of foliage because of the habitat value of the same.

Yet, in a storm event, the foliage poses two problems. One, it impedes the flow of water until such a time as it becomes debris! Second, when debris gets washed down the way, it plugs up culverts, which then causes the flow of water to find another path that offers less resistance.

The water escapes the channel and floods neighborhoods, streets, and freeways!

Regarding armoring the coast, I will never forget how many times boulders were dropped on Goleta Beach, only to be picked back up and dropped back down again. This is because the Coastal Commission will only allow temporary protection in dire situations. After the emergency passes, they throw us back to the mercy of Mother Nature, and the cycle begins all over again.

Meanwhile, up in North County, farmers and ranchers are fuming because the rivers, streams and creeks that run through their property are not maintained by the county, and they themselves are not allowed to do their own maintenance either. This has to do with the protection of the creeks and the surrounding habitat by the same regulatory agencies that afflict South County.

Damages to North County’s farmland from these recent storms is in the millions, and we are not done yet, especially as it affects the Lompoc Valley and the city of Guadalupe this early in the storm season.

The point here is that South and North County have something in common. Urban areas and farm fields are being sacrificed by way of regulatory machinations that protect natural habitat and ecosystems over and above the protection of life and property.

2. Flood and drought cycles are normal. Throughout California’s history, extreme dry years and wet years are normal. They’re not because of climate change.

3. Do not let water out of Lake Cachuma or any reservoir to try to keep a year-round river running to re-create steelhead runs as done in the past.

This depletes our water reserves and fails its goal.

4. Quit forcing more housing in California. State mandates cause communities to build in more risky areas because that is all that is available in most coastal communities. That increases the need for more water, all to meet arbitrary state housing numbers. Local control is best.

5. People first. This means homeowners, renters, commercial property owners and farmers — who produce your food — get priority over fish, insects, animals and weeds when making decisions on maintenance of creeks and rivers.

6. Willow trees should be declared a noxious weed and eliminated without restriction from any stream bed. Willows grow like weeds. They use a large amount of water depleting our water supply and plug up the natural flow.

7. Build more reservoirs. Ninety-five percent of the water from the recent storms runs off into the ocean.

It has been approximately 40 years since the last reservoir was built in California. Billions of dollars in bonds have been approved for this with no results while California’s population has increased from around 25 million to 40 million people during the same time.

Reservoirs increase our water storage and help prevent floods.

Allan Jones Solvang

Library is more than just books

As a relatively new resident of our community, I’ve found the Santa Barbara Public Library is a constant source of delightful surprises.

Take, for instance, its crowd pleasing program, “The Library of Things.” Now library members can explore and even borrow an array of fun objects to explore at home at your leisure with family members, friends or individually: how they work, what their secrets are, how our lives can be improved.

Learn more about it at library. santabarbaraca.gov/books-more/ library-things or even better, visit the downtown library, 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, to see what’s offered.

This is just an example of the curated collections that await us.

The library is so much more than books. It’s a community center filled with engaging and enlightening programs from learning to art, to kids and teen activities and a Library on the Go van that comes to you. All it takes is a free library card.

Public funding covers just a portion of the expenses for library operations and our tireless and creative librarians’ work. It takes private support to elevate our library and push it further into the 21st century with these vibrant activities.

I hope you’ll join me in supporting the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation to ensure our library can continue to innovate unique activities like

“The Library of Things.” Thank you.

Peter Ginsberg Board member, Santa Barbara Library Foundation

Editor’s note: The foundation’s website is sblibraryfoundation.org.

in Solvang

Climate change is a big cash cow

It was recently reported that Greenland recorded its highest temperatures in 1,000 years.

First, what’s wrong with that statement?

In 1612, Italian inventor Santorio Santorio came out with the first thermometer but no real accurate way to determine a patient’s mouth temperature. Around 100 years later, Daniel Fahrenheit invented a more reliable way using mercury, and his method had a temperature scale.

Considering the above, I would like to know who was sitting in Greenland 600 years earlier and measuring the temperature of one of the most desolate places on the planet. But just to play along, since we’re still millions of years coming out of an ice age, I imagine it’s possible it did get warmer.

The conference in Davos, Switzerland was yet another ridiculous charade of climate posturing. I keep trying to find a more powerful definition for hypocrite.

It’s beyond belief that the likes of Al Gore and John Kerry continue to attend these summits. These self-glorifying preach-fests force upon the masses the impending doom of climate change. And they do so with such angry convictions and a straight face. Yet the images of a thousand private jets lined up that transported these phony greens, in many cases just a couple people per plane, the helicopters who flew them to Davos, or the enormous black, gas sucking beasts who drove them there are simply ignored.

There is no shame.

Environmentalists the world over want to strip you of your petrol-operated vehicle and completely ignore the plumes of carbon that billowed over Davos.

COURTESY PHOTO Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon

For safety’s sake

Open letter to the current police chief in Santa Barbara: Please enforce the stop sign laws of this city.

Dave Blunk Santa Barbara

Please see LETTERS on A4

Medicare is destroying American medicine

Public comments extolling the benefits of Medicare once again exposed the naivety of the American public on government “benefit” programs. Lincoln’s comment, “You can fool some of the people all of the time,” applies here.

As socialist democratic president Lyndon Johnson said when he signed the Medicare bill back in 1965, “If they knew how much this was going to cost them, they would revolt now.”

ALL Americans are on Medicare!

Medicare has become the biggest, most invasive socialist government program in our history. Each and every American is affected by this civil service dictatorship. We have gotten another dose of the same from

the socialist democratic Obama administration with the addition of Obamacare to our tax burdens.

Medicare already controls all of the medical health aspects of all 46 million Americans over the age of 65. We are all forced to contribute 2.9% of our income to Medicare for our working life as are our employers for 2.9%.

Many people pay far more dollars into the system than others based on their higher salaries.

But everyone gets the same service through this form of wealth redistribution. The Washington, D.C., civil servants tell us how much we will get in coverage and how much they will pay the doctors, if they will pay them at all. So for about 40 years, each of us working people pay into the Medicare system before we get benefits at 65. We keep paying into the system

through our Social Security benefits until we die.

The government has a record of every aspect of your employment life and your medical life after 65. They know who you have worked for and how much you were paid. It is all in a big computer in Washington, D.C.

Civil servants dictate what hospitals and doctors can get paid for their services. As a result, doctor bills are always underpaid, and we “Medicare patients” have to be taken as “welfare patients” to get the medical coverage we were forced to pay for all of our lives!

Since Medicare only pays 80% of the bill (if it is allowed, after a growing yearly deductible), we are forced to buy Advantage or supplemental insurance if it is allowed in our county and for what Medicare tells the insurance

Years ago, when Greta Thunberg screamed at the world and refused to fly, drive or use any modern convenience to get home because it would have been the end of the planet was at it again right next door in Germany. She was protesting a coal mine and never said a peep about the frauds who brainwashed her for their own oil overindulgences. Because as John Kerry said, he’s an important guy and needs to fly private. The rest of you just deal with it.

California always gets the brunt from the Climate Cultists. None more so than the old Gov. Jerry Brown, who shrieked for many years the death of the planet was just around the corner.

Back in 2018, Gov. Brown said we need to take extraordinary steps to “shift the weather back to where it historically was (and where was that exactly?),” noting that the current climate is the hottest it’s been “since civilization emerged 10,000 years ago.” Was he around then? Could have been, I guess.

It was another stupid statement (along with numerous others) that too many people didn’t question. Jerry blamed all the fires on climate change when as we all know, There are arsonists, lightning and fires caused by power lines. Then the argument becomes, “But they burn hotter because the weather is hotter.” No, they don’t. Hot is hot. Gov. Brown further claimed days are going be 135 degrees for months on end. Just like Al Gore predicted, a few decades ago, the snow on Mount Kilimanjaro would melt away. Wrong!

We all know fires take off with the wind made worse from lack of proper forest management. The environmentalists go silent about forest management

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,”

the

Press radio station.

Andy Caldwell

Henry Schulte The author lives

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

Alisal fire burn area.

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

is at more than 90% capacity after the recent storms. In his letter to the News-Press, Solvang resident Allan Jones advises against letting out water from the lake or other reservoirs to create a year-round river for steelhead runs. “This depletes our water reserves and fails its goal.”

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

Peter Ginsberg, a member of the Santa Barbara Library Foundation board, wrote the News-Press to encourage people to visit the Central Library branch at 40 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.

Justin Ruhge

The author lives in Lompoc

Consumers can’t afford another stamp price hike

The U.S. Postal Service continues its uphill battle trying to convince consumers of its continued speed, reliability and affordability. But now, first-class mail consumers are being asked to pay more for an overstretched network plagued by service slowdowns.

On Jan. 22, America’s mail carrier hiked the price of firstclass Forever stamps 5% from 60 cents to 63 cents after a two-cent increase (from 58 cents) in July. Taxpayers and consumers deserve a better and more responsive Postal Service that fixes its underlying issues instead of bilking them for worsening services. Until the Postal Service consolidates its network and fixes its nonsensical parcel pricing, stamp price hikes should be off the table. Stamps are one of many products to see repeated price hikes over the past year. Consumers have had to cope with $4 gasoline, $5 for a dozen eggs, and ... soon, more expensive Valentine’s Day chocolates and flowers. At least for these products, consumers know exactly what they’re getting once they cough up the extra cash.

USPS deliveries aren’t what they used to be. Delivery wait times have gotten progressively longer as part of a plan by postal leadership to cut costs over the long-term. In October 2021, new service standards went into effect that tacked 1-2 days onto 30-40% of first-class mail. The USPS’

estimated cost savings per year amount to less than $200 million, a fraction of a percent of operating costs (~$80 billion) in any given year. The price hikes and service cutbacks will only erode the USPS’ brand without making a dent in the agency’s $100 billion in cumulative net losses.

There are plenty of alternatives that postal leadership could

pursue without cutting into consumer expectations. According to the Taxpayers Protection Alliance’s report on postal reform, the USPS could save more than $1 billion per year through more consistent reporting, auditing and information-sharing.

Additionally, the struggling agency has far more processing equipment and collection boxes

than it needs. And this excess network capacity diverts critical manpower away from tasks such as handling election mail. Even before Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s term, the agency was removing more than 2,000 collection boxes a year in order to allocate labor more efficiently. But these efforts didn’t go far enough. The IG noted in 2016 that

“removing unnecessary collection boxes throughout the Eastern Area would eliminate 73,043 work hours over the next five years,” saving millions of dollars.

Postmaster General DeJoy wisely ramped up removals of unneeded equipment, but an outcry fueled by postal misinformation forced him to halt these needed changes. Ramping up removals could go a long way toward creating a lean, consolidated postal network. In addition, the agency should consider shuttering or selling post offices that are losing money and close to other, operational post offices. A 2021 report by the USPS Inspector General notes that, “Among nearly 13,000 underwater post offices, one-quarter are within three miles of another post office, and more than half are within five miles.” Closing these offices would be a welcome departure from the current approach of crude closures that leave consumers without any remaining offices nearby.

Getting the USPS back into the black will take a coordinated and dedicated effort by postal leadership and Congress.

The beleaguered federal agency cannot and must not take the painful “shortcut” of raising stamp prices on millions of Americans. The USPS must announce an end to price hikes and commit to fundamental reforms to avert (another) taxpayer bailout.

Ross Marchand is a nonresident fellow for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

Looking back at Vietnam, 50 years later

The Vietnam War ended officially on Jan. 27, 1973 with signing of the Paris Peace Accords.

The governments of North Vietnam, South Vietnam and the United States, plus the revolutionary National Liberation Front (NLF, which included the military Viet Cong) were parties to the agreement.

The 50th anniversary of the event provides a benchmark for analysis. Intense, angry division among Americans over the war tore our country apart for many years.

Fading of that is a blessing. Yet accurate assessment of lessons can remain elusive, clouded by misconceptions and passage of time.

Talented journalist Barton Swaim has conducted an informative interview with former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., published in The Wall Street Journal on Jan. 21-22. Sen. Webb served in Vietnam combat as a Marine Corps officer, was wounded and received the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, among other medals.

Regarding military combat, Sen. Webb knows what he’s talking about.

Sen. Webb emphasizes that

The sky is not falling

Have you heard?

The world is about to end!

“60 Minutes” recently featured Paul Ehrlich, author of the bestseller, “The Population Bomb.”

“Humanity is not sustainable,” he said.

Why would “60 Minutes” interview Mr. Ehrlich?

For years, Mr. Ehrlich said,

“We are very close to a famine” and, “In the next 15 years, the end will come.” He’s been wrong again and again.

Yet “60 Minutes” takes him seriously. “Paul Ehrlich may have lived long enough to see some of his dire prophecies come true,” intoned reporter Scott Pelley. Now, “60 Minutes” says, “scientists say” the earth is in the midst of a “mass extinction”!

Doom sells.

Mr. Ehrlich’s book sold an amazing 3 million copies. It claimed the Earth’s rising population would lead to worldwide famine.

The opposite happened.

The world’s population more than doubled. But today there is less famine!

“60 Minutes” did mention that Ehrlich was wrong about widespread starvation, but they ignored his many other silly predictions. One was that by the year 2000 (because of climate change), England will not exist.

most Vietnam Veterans are proud of their service, in contrast to dominant popular imagery. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara with his civilian quantitative analysts, and the highly organized well-funded anti-war movement, are blamed for the ultimate failure of U.S. efforts to preserve South Vietnam.

Sen. Webb also points to assassination teams sent to the South by Hanoi, targeting in particular village chiefs and social workers, and cites French journalist and scholar Bernard Fall’s important, reliable work.

Secretary McNamara, an extremely aggressive statisticianmanager, fixated on quantitative measures of progress. Attrition was the order of the day; enemy body counts and weapons captured the measure of progress.

Body counts were often inflated. Pentagon politics and public relations corrupted information. As that war became ever more frustrating and controversial, critics seized on this problem. The aftermath of the war included a bitter lawsuit between Vietnam commander General William Westmoreland and CBS News, which he accused of a biased documentary on the bloody

numbers game. But there is a more subtle and profound problem with the bodycount approach. During Vietnam, U.S. Army iconoclasts such as Col. John Paul Vann argued that the McNamara measures were based on false premises. Given the enormous scale of American firepower, increasing body and weapons totals simply meant the enemy was growing in numbers. There were more targets to kill.

During Secretary McNamara’s tenure at the Pentagon, officers who questioned the approach were not only summarily rejected, their careers were in jeopardy. Col. Vann, ultimately vindicated, became extremely influential as a civilian official of the Agency for International Development, the important but politically unpopular U.S. foreign aid program.

Col. Vann, a true warrior, still carried a weapon and ran military operations, literally unable to let go of this passion. He was killed in a helicopter crash late in the war.

Not surprisingly, the Vietnam War had profound impacts on the United States military, especially the Army. During the Eisenhower administration, pressures grew

steadily not only to increase military spending, but to use our forces overseas more aggressively.

Consequences included a large increase in defense spending under the new Kennedy administration. President John F. Kennedy and influential advisers became fascinated with notions of counterinsurgency. In Vietnam, however, the fighting ultimately became conventional.

War is unpredictable.

The same day the Paris Peace Accords were signed, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced that the draft was ended, instituting the all-volunteer military. In consequence, our military forces can more easily be deployed into potentially dangerous situations.

In other words, involvement in wars became more likely.

To learn more, read Bernard Fall’s “The Two Viet-Nams.”

Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War - American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan). He is also the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., and a Clausen Distinguished Professor. He welcomes questions and comments at acyr@carthage.edu.

U.S. facing huge military recruiting crisis

‘America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels.”

— Claudia Pemberton

The 1940s were trying times.

The global economic crisis gave way to a world war that became the deadliest and most destructive war in human history. Eighty million individuals lost their lives during World War II. The war saw genocide threaten the eradication of some entire nations. It unleashed the most fearsome technology ever used in war. When it ended, America was the world’s greatest superpower because it had the world’s greatest economy and the world’s greatest military forces.

America entered World War II on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan staged a surprise attack on the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor. In a two-hour attack, Japanese warplanes sank or damaged 18 warships and destroyed 164 aircraft. More than 2,400 servicemen and civilians gave up their lives. President Franklin Roosevelt vowed; “No matter how long it takes, we Americans will avenge this with a victory.”

People from all over America and every walk of life volunteered for service to defend the world’s

greatest nation.

A total of 12,209,238 U.S. men and women served America and the nations of the world to fight for world freedom and democracy. U.S. soldiers fought in countries they’d never been to or heard of.

Many rushed to enlistment centers while others were drafted, eager to fight a war to end all wars.

A total of 672,123 service men and women sacrificed their lives for the gift of freedom worldwide.

World War II had scarcely ended when communism reared its ugly head in Korea. U.S. and allied troops stopped North Korea’s invasion of the South. But President Harry Truman refused to allow Gen. Douglas MacArthur to finish what he started to bring liberty to Asia. And this foreign policy blunder will haunt the U.S. forever.

“A general is just as good or just as bad as the troops under his command.”

—

Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Due to an unsettled peace in Asia, the U.S. has battled in many unpopular wars to stop the spread of communism. After fighting too many Asian civil wars, President Richard Nixon

bowed to public demands and ended the military draft. And we are suffering the consequences today. Since our transition to a volunteer force in 1973, we have had many years when the military missed their recruiting goals.

In 1999, 2005, and 2018, when the economy was booming or conflict casualties were high, we had severe recruiting problems. According to military personnel officials testifying at a Senate hearing last week, 2022 is “arguably the most challenging recruiting year” since the military draft ended.

“Only those Americans who are willing to die for their country are fit to live.”

— Gen. MacArthur

The Army announced it has been forced to cut its force by 12,000 soldiers because there are not enough volunteers to fill its ranks. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville told the committee they are in a “war for talent,” not with the Air Force or Navy but with Americans refusing to enlist.

The Air Force’s top recruiter warned Congress that he has grave concerns meeting his 2022 goals. The Navy’s top personnel

officer stated they may make their 2022 goals, but only “by reducing the Delayed Entry Program from historic norms.”

The Marine Corps is struggling to find recruits also.

In 2013, to correct the shortage of service enlistees, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colorado, introduced the Military Enlistment Opportunity Act.

This authorized armed force enlistment of persons who were residing in the U.S. but not citizens. After five years in the U.S. military, they would become legal aliens with a green card. This would give them permanent residence and a pathway to citizenship.

Although The Military Enlistment Act was a great opportunity to provide illegal aliens a legitimate pathway to citizenship, few took advantage of it since most “pseudo asylum seekers” have no ties to America. They come here for free social services, not to assimilate like our founding immigrants.

“We cannot sustain illegal immigration in perpetuity. It will not work for our country.”

— Lara Trump

The DOD says only 29% of Americans qualify for service. Things that disqualify them for service are a lack of a high school

GED, drug use, poor health and a criminal record. They blame this on public education. They say that public schools do not teach our youth how to be good citizens. Fitness, drug use and criminal records are not the only reasons why high school grads are turning their noses up at the military. Many Millennials and Gen Z hold more progressive views on issues like gay marriage, legal marijuana and morality. Many see the military as a bastion of conservative values like tradition, duty and sacrifice. Again this perception is a product of their public education.

Common Core teaches our youth that America is cruel and has treated Indians and blacks like second class citizens since our founding. They are teaching that racism is institutional, including in the military and our youth’s first duty is to correct our social problems, rather than defend their nation and its institutions.

“Wrong or right, as public education goes so does the country.”

— Steve Kagen

A recent DOD poll asked youths 16 to 20, “How likely is it you will serve in the military?” Only

see HAUPT on C4

Mr. Ehrlich won’t talk to me now, but seven years ago, when my producer asked him about his nonsense, Mr. Ehrlich said, “When you predict the future, you get things wrong.”

The media should ignore doomsayers like Mr. Ehrlich, and pay more attention to people like Marian Tupy, editor of HumanProgress.org.

In my new video, Mr. Tupy points out that “life is getting better.” The modern era has brought much longer lives and the greatest decline in poverty ever.

Of course, universities, media and politicians say capitalism is destroying the earth, so young people throw soup on famous paintings. It’s the moral thing to do, they believe, because we face an apocalypse!

“If you sell the apocalypse,” says Mr. Tupy, “people feel like you are deep and that you care.”

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Arthur I, Cyr

William Haupt III

The author is a Center Square contributor

Ross Marchand

The author is with the Taxpayers Protection Alliance

DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS

The U.S. Postal Service serves customers at its office on Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara. Ross Marchand of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance writes that the USPS could save $1 billion per year through more consistent reporting, auditing and information-sharing.

Continued

to Sacramento’s legislation and the city of Santa Barbara’s project agreement with the owners, that the innocuous questions they valiantly still asked at this stage were about color, materials, solar and landscaping.

Vice Chair Richard Six did request the corner(s) be softened by moving a balcony to the corner instead of remaining in the middle, and he called it a missed opportunity when he was voted down by the board. The request to soften the corners to reduce massing had been made by the board repeatedly to the applicant.

And when checking the compatibility findings regarding mass, bulk, scale and compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood, all of that had already been decided by the Santa Barbara City Council.

However, “The public views and mountains have not been impacted,” doesn’t hold water if you are a Santa Barbara Junior High student, or an athlete who uses the field behind the project. Still, the attention and tweaking of the project made, at least on paper, for a better look than the schlock that was approved at 425 Garden St.

However, 425 Garden St. — another 4-story, 36-units development with rooftop amenities — is big, blocky, with concrete from lot line to lot line and looks like a white boring shoebox. It’s more fitting for what

is being constructed in Oxnard. Resembling a shopping mall, or medical facility, it hardly looks like housing or a place to call home. The project was 33 units in November 2021. Now it is 36.

Said the presenter, “The archway was moved back to be compatible with the (one-story) building next door.”

Nothing is memorable nor inviting about this design, nor was it compatible with adjoining East Haley Street nor Garden Street. Haley Street, made of one and two-story buildings with a neighborhood industrial feel and dotted with motor courts, will go the way of Chapala Street, which used to evoke a western town, with one-story buildings and imaginary

wooden boardwalks, before it turned into high-rise, high priced housing units. The outcome will be worse, because the thought, care and suggestions are not afforded to the applicants from the review boards.

The modern constraints where the number of units to make construction affordable, as chanted by the developers and the dictates being passed by Sacramento, outweighs the livability of these housing units, and takes the magic out of a beautiful and well thought building that stands the test of time and enchants the passerby.

And sadly, a sweet cul-de-sac at 414 W. Canon Perdido St. will lose some of its charm when the modern 2-unit ADU is plopped on the site,

among the one-story Victorians.

Again, a box and a box with a triangle on top describes the project. What is even sadder, is that no public speakers, on Zoom or in person, spoke out against any of the projects. And public speakers are who let the boards know that people care about where they live.

Please speak up for the good of your neighborhood. Think of the projects that were better because of the neighbors’ input.

We have observed that the large housing projects in various cities, both in California and outside the state, read like a proliferation of a one-size-fits-all design to address the apparent problem of “housing shortages.”

Objective Design Standards encourage a “kit of parts,” which result in blocky buildings with the only differentiation of a splash of color, maybe with a cheap balcony or two. It is becoming an anonymous architecture — absent of style, where the neighborhoods and the cities are indistinguishable from the next.

They’re like the shopping centers built in the 1980-90s in the Nouveau Tuscan design, seen from the freeway from Camarillo to Gilroy. They all looked the same and were brought to the areas by out-of-town developers with little concern for the soul or identity of a place people call home. Modern-day carpetbaggers.

Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Saturdays in the Voices section.

Forests have grown by 35% in North America

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But “if you are selling rational optimism, you sound uncaring.”

Uncaring? It’s the doomsayers who are anti-people. Mr. Ehrlich once even floated the idea of sterilizing people, and reducing population growth by having the government poison our food.

“Ehrlich sees human beings as destroyers rather than creators,” says Mr. Tupy, “no different from rabbits. When they consume all the grass around us, their population explodes, but then it’s going to collapse. But human beings are fundamentally different. We have the capacity to innovate.”

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way for the United States to take control of Cuba?”

Dr. Zinn claims that many U.S. residents use “citizenship, not merely as a legal status but as a narrow vision of who can be considered ‘American,’ (and that vision) is still used as a weapon against Latinos.”

Is it any wonder that younger people don’t care if noncitizens vote in our elections?

Later chapters are filled with slurs against the rule of “the upper class,” which Dr. Zinn claimed was “getting most of the benefits,” while “everywhere the poor were struggling to stay alive, simply to keep from freezing in cold weather.”

Dr. Zinn does throw a bone

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A close look at the 2020 election

In a recent letter to the NewsPress, we were all told to speak the truth. That is very good advice, and we should all take it seriously.

However, the “truth” can be elusive.

For example, the recent hearings by the Select(ed) Committee regarding Jan. 6, 2021 — conducted without even the pretense of due process and therefore devoid of the other points of view and cross examination, among other things — are an unlikely approach to finding the truth. Due process is how civilized nations have sought the truth for centuries, but it sadly is no longer important to a large portion of our population if it interferes with their political objectives.

On the matter of the protesters’ concern on Jan. 6, the truth remains far more complicated than their opposition would like.

For example, while there were numerous lawsuits regarding the issue of the 2020 election, many, if not most, were decided on procedural matters such as latches (like the statute of limitations) and standing rather than on the merits of those cases. In addition, it would be hard to

‘Only those fit to live are not afraid to die’

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11% responded “definitely or probably.” When asked why they had no desire to join the military, most of them replied, “With many companies like Amazon and Starbucks offering jobs with pay over $15 an hour, and benefits, why join the military?” With help wanted signs everywhere, they make a point.

At a time when threats to America’s security are the highest in decades, it is not encouraging that the military is facing a staffing crisis. Vladimir Putin is marching through Eastern Europe, Xi Jinping has vowed to take back Taiwan, and Iran and Kim Jong Un in North Korea are eager to attack their neighbors and the U.S. We need skilled patriotic enlisted men and women more than ever.

Gen. MacArthur once said, “Only those fit to live are not afraid to die.” Every teacher and every parent and everyone who influences America’s youth needs to give our young citizens a lesson in the civic duties for all Americans. Their first duty as a citizen is to protect their homeland. Service in the military not only helps secure our nation, but everyone who

serves is rewarded. They learn high skilled professions; earn retirement and health benefits, and the GI bill pays for college education.

Today’s public schools teach that the American Dream is dead and their students buy into this, and they never knew that “they are living the American Dream.” They live in a nation where they can do or be anything they wish because men and women fought two Great Wars for them. Now it is their turn to fight the good fight to protect the American Dream for future generations that follow them.

The Pentagon needs to update its recruiting techniques to appeal to today’s youth. Solutions are possible, and ignoring this situation will not fix it. Our national security depends on it. It is easier to prevent a war than win one.

“Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.”

— General George Patton

This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

It’s counterintuitive to think that people can be good for the environment. “We use stuff,” I say to Mr. Tupy.

“We use stuff, but we also grow stuff,” he responds. “What matters is new knowledge. Think about something as simple as sand. When we started melting down sand to create glass, we used the first glass for glass beads. Now we create microchips.”

Similar innovation in farming, transportation and genetic engineering is why our growing population doesn’t destroy nature.

“Forests have grown by 35% in North America and Western Europe in the last 20 years,” Mr. Tupy points out.

That’s because innovative humans found ways to produce

to the Second Amendment by admitting that “The American victory over the British army was made possible by the existence of an already-armed people. Just about every white male had a gun and could shoot.”

But it was back-handed praise.

He goes on in the same paragraph to claim that: “The Revolutionary leadership distrusted the mobs of the poor. But they knew the Revolution had no appeal to slaves and Indians. They would have to woo the armed white population.”

Sigh.

The Civil War too, is handled dismissively by Dr. Zinn. “The Emancipation Proclamation,” he writes, “had all the moral grandeur of a bill of lading.”

Virtually nowhere in the preceding chapters on the Civil War does he reveal that the rebellious slave-owning

fault a judge for avoiding the chaos that would result from reversing an election unless there was overwhelming evidence, which would be hard to prove as a result of the relaxed rules for identification, such as mailin voting and extended voting days, and the extensive largely unregulated ballot harvesting. Those protesters might have had a more persuasive argument focusing on the four-plus years of pervasive lies regarding the Clinton-funded Trump/Russia conspiracy. Such a volume of disinformation on a daily basis could not help but affect some (unknowable) number of voters.

Also, the now-proven cooperation between the Democratic controlled government and big tech, as well as the well-known Democrat bias of the mainstream media, resulted in pervasive censorship of nonconforming viewpoints regarding former President Donald Trump’s behavior, which would likely have resulted in changed votes.

Certainly the fraudulent denial of the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop had clear and significant impacts on the election. We will never know if such impacts were decisive.

So, yes, we should speak the truth, but we must have the integrity to search for it objectively before, unintentionally perhaps, actually spreading lies. A good start would be to access facts and opinions on

more food on less land. Also, prosperous countries can afford to protect nature. But this idea that human innovation helps nature is nowhere near as popular as the idea that humans destroy earth. Many young people are so misled that many don’t want to have kids. But that would hurt the world! Fewer women having babies today is probably more of a threat than climate change. Not only do we need young people to take care of the growing number of us old people, we need them to invent the things that will solve the Earth’s problems. More children means more people who might grow up to cure cancer or invent a carbon-eating machine.

Southerners were all members of the Democratic Party and that the anti-slavery Northerners were Republicans.

“With the Union army in the South as protection, and a civilian army of officials in the Freedman’s Bureau to help them, southern Negroes came forward, voted, formed political organizations and expressed themselves forcefully on issues important to them. They were hampered in this for several years by Andrew Johnson, Vice President under Lincoln, who became President when Lincoln was assassinated at the close of the war.

“Johnson vetoed bills to help Negroes; he made it easy for Confederate states to come back into the Union without guaranteeing equal rights to blacks. During his presidency,

all sides of an issue rather than becoming a true believer of only one perspective.

William K. Rogers Santa Barbara

Let’s take the power back from D.C.

A grassroots movement is spreading across our country, but you may not have heard of it yet. It is called Convention of States, launched in 2013, and it aims to return power from the national government back to the states, as our founders in their wisdom planned.

As the government in D.C. has expanded, it has taken authority over education, health, term limits and unrestrained federal spending.

Our wise founding fathers included Article 5 in the Constitution, which states that when 34 states deem it necessary, they may call a convention to prepare amendments. If amendments are proposed, it takes a yes vote from 38 states to enact them.

We can see that the “swamp” in D.C. has become so deep that it swallows up most of the new representatives and senators who have been elected to serve our citizens.

In the beginning, senators in each state were chosen by the state legislatures, ensuring that their allegiance was to the

However, more people by itself is not enough to provide the innovation we need.

“Certainly not,” says Mr. Tupy. “If the number of people was all that mattered, China would have been the richest country for centuries. What you need is people,and freedom. If you let human beings be free, they will create more value for everyone.”

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Copyright 2022 BY JFS Productions Inc.

these returned southern states enacted ‘black codes,’ which made the freed slaves like serfs, still working the plantations.”

Nowhere is it mentioned that Johnson, whose constant vetoes led to his impeachment, was a Democrat, and that all the laws to protect and promote blacks that he vetoed were drawn and passed by a Republican Congress.

Next week, we’ll examine Dr. Zinn’s take on the Great Depression and America’s entry into both World War I and World War II.

James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@ substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.

citizens in their own jurisdiction. As they now have been voted in as representatives of D.C., they became subject to the national power machine. Also the undercover bureaucracy has become all powerful and has no accountability because they were not voted into office.

Because it’s so easy to give away the taxpayers’ money to buy future votes, our representatives have no fiscal restraint. So here we are $31 trillion in debt, and paying interest forever into the future, for which we receive nothing.

In spite of most voters being in favor of term limits, Congress has been able to ignore that and continue on forever, as can be seen by how many members have made it a lifetime career and become very wealthy in the process.

The Founding Fathers who wrote our Constitution were inspired by ancient Greek and Roman scholars, who recognized the fallibility of man, and as the saying goes, “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” They gave us this loophole of Article V of the Constitution, so the states could redeem the power which belongs to we the people.

Convention of States has a website (conventionofstates.com) where you may learn more. It is meant to give the power of the vote back to each of us where it belongs.

Medicare is going broke

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companies to charge.

And we must buy our own prescription insurance to boot, but only that allowed by Medicare. If you wanted to buy your own independent medical insurance, Medicare would not allow you to do so, and no insurance company would sell it to you as a Medicare hostage.

Yes, it is a total dictatorship. And finally, about half of the people die before receiving any benefits nor do their heirs.

Many others have company or union insurance and never use their forced Medicare benefits. All of their funds go into that Washington socialist sinkhole of wealth redistribution.

Even with 50% nonusers, Medicare is going broke. Billions of dollars are spent on paperwork records alone. No, Medicare like all government programs, is not a benefit, nor is Obamacare. Both must be

phased out to stop an American financial meltdown and to free Americans from this civil service dictatorship. We must restore our choice in medical coverage with free market private insurance programs just like we have for many other medical insurances in our lives today. As we have seen in the Veteran Affairs debacle and in Obamacare, when the government gets involved, it is always a mess and always costs us more. Medicare, Social Security and yearly IRS tax reporting are socialist systems that control our private lives. We need to replace them with private medical, private savings and no tax reporting through a flat tax system that will not intrude in our private lives.

As President Ronald Reagan said, “Man is not free unless government is limited.”

Justin M. Ruhge is a senior living on Medicare in Lompoc.

There’s no point in using facts

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because it’s their fault for putting the kibosh on doing the right thing. Their irresponsible behavior caused more smoke and pollution beyond measure.

And there’s no accounting for how much wildlife has been lost, including the revered Spotted Owl. That’s who’s to blame. So good going, hippies.

The stupidity continues today with Gov. Gavin Newsom giving us sermons over the years about how the drought will continue to get worse from climate change. Hotter days, hotter fires, yada yada yada, and no rain. Oops. But then, to cover his behind he recently tweeted, “Megadroughts. Wildfires. Historic floods and atmospheric rivers. This whiplash weather is not an anomaly. California is proof that the climate crisis is real and we have to take it seriously.”

What a way to cover your butt.

And give me a break.

California, a very tiny slice of the planet, proves climate change is real? That’s from a guy who has never worked in his life. Gov. Newsom has zero education or knowledge about what makes the weather, and he’s telling us that a normal pineapple express is proof we’re all going to die.

And people sponge this baseless stuff up because an empty suit politician said so.

Climate change is a huge cash cow for environmental organizations, for China and everything in between. From solar panels to windmills. From the federal government to private enterprise to how people are even manipulated to vote. You can do a simple search and learn about storms

hundreds of years ago much larger than our recent rains. And droughts that lasted for decades. Fires, hurricanes, tornados, snow and rain are never uniform year to year. You hear every fire season, ‘“This is the new normal.”

But scientists have calculated before Europeans touched America’s shores, 4.4 million acres of California burned annually, which is 16 times larger than the amount that burned in 2019. There just weren’t any homes to burn down back then. There’s no point in using facts. These issues are emotionally driven, and no one wants to hear them. It’s easier to have someone tell you the polar bears are dying; the snow is melting, and we’re going to be getting cooked soon if we don’t drown first.

In the meantime, prepare to continue to have a large portion of your budget spent on fuel.

Natural gas is being throttled back, and we’ve all been shocked by our recent bills. More power outages. And more coal plants. Huh? Yes, you need the coal plants to produce the power so you can plug in your electric vehicle.

And as you drive around in that delightful electric car feeling tingly all over because you’re doing your part to stave off climate change, give thanks to all the slaves who suffered to make those batteries for you. I’m not against electric cars, and I imagine someday I may be driving one when I can go farther than 250 miles and not waste hours charging it.

In the meantime, I’m grateful that EVs leave more gas for me.

Henry Schulte welcomes questions or comments at hschulteopinions@gmail.com.